Homefront
by Rogue Force
Summary: A forty-eight hour pass leads Ripcord and Covergirl on a roadtrip to the Weems' residence and back before the team of seven is sent to Hawaii for some well-deserved R
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: We don't own these charaters, Hasbro does. This story takes place directly after Murphy's Law (Brazil).   
  
  
HOMEFRONT   
  
Ripcord took a hard look in the mirror mounted above the sink in his small hotel room-like dormatory. Considing an earlier glance he'd taken in a mirror in a similar dormatory back at Howard Air Base, he looked a lot better. There wasn't a doubt he still looked horrible but not so much that he resembled a prime canidate as an extra in "Dawn of the Dead". He'd spent most of yesterday in the infirmary or in debriefings. The day before was a total blur after he'd decked Courage's worthless ass. He remembered very little other than his irration at Doc's poking and proding of his ribs and later from some intel. butter bar's same thirty questions over and over again. When he'd finally gotten to return to his room he'd almost immediatley fell on his bed and drifted off into a deep sleep. Unfortunately, the alarm clock wasn't told it had become Ripcord's new nemesis. As the high pitched buzzing started Ripcord had immediately shot his hand to the clock and fumbled around for the off switch. Unable to find it he had forcefully jerked the cord free of the wall. Despite his long, restful sleep, he had still felt somewhat tired. He had reluctantly slid out of the bed and made his way towards the shower, stripping off the unmarked BDU as he went. He ended up spending about in a hour just standing the shower, letting the water run over him till the hot water heater had finally given out. Both the long sleep and the hot shower had the effect of finally freeing his system from the last bit of withdrawls from the combat stimulant. Ripcord tired his best to ignore his tired face or the layers of guaze and plastic that still covered his left arm as he continued to look in the mirror, instead focusing on his uniform. He let a smile across his face as his eyes scanned over the smartly pressed fabric of the woodland BDUs. In addition to being dry they reminded him of who he was. After week of roaming around isolated locations in unmarked BDUs, the smallest things made him felt comfortable. The specialist ranks on his collars, the HALO badge, the master parachutist badge, the EOD badge, the 82nd airborne division patch, even the name and branch tapes seemed to stand out on the the uniform. They reminded him of something that he'd begun to doubt himself; he wasn't an expendable resource, he was a soldier for one of the greatest nations in the world. The thought brought a smile to his face that stuck with him as he turned on his spit polished jump-boots and walked out of the door. As he stepped outside he threw on his maroon beret before headed off towards another section of the dormatories with a renewed pride in his step, still smiling at the little things here and there that he'd notice. The crisp fall Virgina mountain air never seemed to feel better than today. The cloudless sky seemed bluer. Even the half bare autumn trees gave his spirits a small boost. He took in all he could. He didn't know when he'd see it again. Hawk had called him and the rest of the Brazil team in for a briefing this morning, most likely to rush them off to a foreign locale to again wreak havoc in some way or other. Ripcord pushed the thoughs out of his head as he came to a door and gave it a few quick knocks.   
"Hey Covergirl, you ready?" Ripcord spoke loudly enough for his voice to carry through the wooden door.   
"One sec." Came back a muffled reply from behind the door. Ripcord nodded to himself waited patiently for about half a mintue before the door finally swung open. "You look a lot better." She said as she gave him a once over.   
"Thanks, you too." Ripcord responded with a smile as his eyes took her in. Not even the banagaes on her temple or the dull colors of her BDUs seemed to detrack from her natural beauty. "You ready to go?" he finally asked.   
"Yeah." She managed to barely sigh out as she down casted her eyes and gave a solemn nod. With her head still hung down slightly she started to walk away from her door.   
"One more thing." Ripcord said as he reached out and gentely grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her. She turned and gave the the paratrooper a quizical stare. "I still think I love you." He said with a warm smile after a brief pause.   
"No drugs?" Covergirl asked quizically, as she took her eyes away from him.   
"Nope, I'm clean." Ripcord stated matter of factly. He let a smile cross his face as he anticipated her next question. "And the brace Doc gave me is really helping my ribs. Almost no pain." He added with a smile. He saw Covergirl shift a series of nervous glances around before she smiled and spoke up, looking into Ripcord's eyes.   
"I think..." She started before nodding and pressing on, "me too Wally." Her stare continued for a moment before she downcast her eyes and shifted almost nervously. "I'm just..." She started, struggling through her words, "What if...I mean, we're on the same team." She finally finished in a quick breath.   
"Well I've already stricken an officer and been insobordenate," He responded with a less than serious tone and a shrug, "Why quit while I'm ahead?" His voice and face immediately took on a more serious air as he continued, "And if you were cut off," He nodded, "Yes, I'd try to save you. But I'd do the same for any of the others." He let some humor drop back into his demeanor as he continued quickly, "Well maybe not Fast Draw or Heavy Metal."   
"I wouldn't expect you to." She said with a slow shake of her head as she looked back up at Ripcord again. Her voice took on a very serious tone as she continued, "It was like with Hotseat, we had to finish the mission. I didn't like it, but it was the right thing to do." As she finished, she cast her eyes down yet again, almost like she didn't want to face him. After a short moment she continued in an almost defeated voice. "Like Fast Draw said, your emotions are going to get you killed, and I....I don't want that, Wally. I don't know I'd do if something happened to you." She finished in shakey voice with a fearful look in her deep blue eyes.   
"Well what do you want us to do?" Ripcord challenged in a slightly raised voice. "Avoid each other? Just turn off our feelings? I don't know about you Courtney but I can't just forget how I feel about you." Ripcord stated flatly, in an almost frustrated voice.   
"No... no I don't want that at all... " She faultered before she gave a small smile and looked back at Ripcord. "I mean, someone has to watch your back, Skyboy." Then was a slight pause before she continued, her voice starting to get shakey as a worried look crossed her face. "I can't just forget either. Just tell me... tell me it'll be okay? All right?" She asked in an almost pleading tone of voice.   
"It will be. I promise." Ripcord replied in a firm voice and with a slow, solemn nod of his head.   
"I think I love you too, Wally." She returned in firm voice as she stared into his warm green eyes for a long moment, her own eyes starting to water. She let a brave smile cross her face, almost as if she was trying to keep her herself from crying. After a moment of silence between the two, she chuckled for a brief second before she spoke up again. "I'd hug you, but I've seen your ribcage." Her comment allowed Ripcord to let a smile across his face as he took a step closer to Covergirl.   
"Well then will this do?" He said as he put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up, looking deep into her eyes while he did so. He slowly inched his face closer to hers, feeling her body shake as their lips met. They closed their eyes as the small moment extended into a blissful enternity, their hearts beating ever faster before Ripcord reluctantly leaned away, causing their eyes to slowly open.   
"Yeah...That'll do." Was all Covergirl could manage to muster in a small, shakey voice as a soft smile played over her face. After her words died, a silence fell between the two, both of them just staring quizically into each other's eyes, searching for a sign of what extactly to say or do. Just as they both opened their mouths to speak, a familar voice called out. Causing the two to look away from each other, their eyes falling on Zap as he rounded the corner of the building.   
"Hey amigos." The Hispanic explosive expert called as he came to a stop near his two friends and held up a cardboard 'drink tray' holding several covered styrafoam cups. "Coffee?" he asked. Both nodded quickly and scooped up one of the cups. "You guys ready to head to the briefing?" He asked as he watched the two quickly down a few sips of the hot liquid. Finally, Covergirl responded to the question.   
"Yep," She said reluctantly as she downplayed her eyes somewhat. "Generals to see, Worlds to save."   
  
"Room ATEN-SHUN!" Hotseat barked out as the seven soldiers shot to their feet and assumed rigid positions of attention. Hawk immediatley waved his soldiers back down into their seats as he strode purposefully into the small breifing room and came to stop as he took his place at the head of the room. Hawk waited the brief moment until all the Joes had been seated before he spoke up in his normal authoritive voice.   
"First off I would like to commend each of you on performing admirably in Brazil. Despite having nearly every part of the origanal plan fall apart you still managed to complete every aspect of the mission. More importantly you did so without losing a single man or major piece of equipment. Outstanding job soldiers." Hawk took a moment to look at his soldiers, each seemed in their own way to swell somewhat with pride at the General's praises. Hawk then reached into a manila folder he'd been carrying and withdrew a single sheet of paper. He spoke solemnly as his eyes scanned over the faces before him.   
"I read the debriefing reports, you had a rough mission, I know what I'm about to say won't be much reward but it'll all I can do." The general let a pause fill air, causing the each of the soldiers to glance quizically at each other. After a brief moment had passed Hawk continued, "Each of you have been awarded the Bronze Star with Fast Draw also earning the Purple Heart, and Hotseat earning the Prisioner of War Medal. However, due to the classified nature of this operation, all debriefings, awards, and personal accounts concerning your actions on this previous mission, will remain classified for the for extactly twenty years from this date." Hawk internally winced as the bright looks on the faces of his soldiers faded to almost pained dissappointment. Trying his best to ingore their looks Hawk proceeded.   
"For whatever it's worth, you've proven to me that each of you form an excellent team. So look forward to continuing your work with each other. I need you in field as soon as possible." Once again Hawk was pained to see the drop in morale that he'd just given his trooops but pressed on, knowing they would be thankful at the end of this breifing.   
"However, the majority of you are in such bad sharp that sending you right back into a combat zone would be suicide. I need each of you to heal before going back into the field. Once again, I know it's not much but it's all I can do." Hawk watched as his people perked up again at the hint of some down time. "I'm authorizing a weekend pass to each of you. Two days to get off base and do whatever you want to do. After that you'll report back here where you'll hop a series of flights to Hickham in Hawaii. Offically you'll each be on TDY to Fort Shafter at a special conference on Training Doctrine. Unoffically you'll be living out of a hotel in Honolulu, doing little more that just checking in by phone to Shafter once a day." Hawk took a moment to let the images of his soldiers' contained joy settle into his mind. "I know you people deserve more that ten days, hell, some of you need more than ten days, but it's all I can do. Dismissed people, I'll see you in ten days." Hawk quickly strode towards the door, causing each of the soldiers to shoot smartly to their feet. As Hawk reached out for the door handle he stopped and let his arm drop to his side before turning to shoot a smile at his soldiers, "Have fun, Rogue Force. That's an order." Before any of the Joes could speak, Hawk slipped out of the room. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two   
  
The door had barely closed before Zap let out a whoop that was almost infectious. "I'm coming home!" He called out. It was good to see him smile, his brown eyes once again lit up with laughter. Just the day before he'd had to say good-bye to Miguel, handing the young boy over to the authorities. She was actually thankful for her endless debriefing just so she wouldn't have to watch the two part. His exuberance over the 48 hour pass was enough to make anyone smile... well, almost anyone. Her eyes fell on Repeater. He wore his same stoic expression he'd wear if Hawk had just said "we're sending you to Mars."   
Once outside the debriefing room and away from the others, she relaxed against the wall. Ripcord leaned his shoulder against the wall next to her, placing his head against the cool plaster. It was a lot of information to process at once. Bronze star recipients. True, it wouldn't be "official" for another 20 years, but still, it was something. Much better than the flat "good job, people" she expected. Plus more importantly, she wouldn't have to wait the 20 years for a full ten days off, complete with forty-eight hour get-off-the-base-free card. But what to do with it? She'd been home just under... two weeks ago. Her eyes grew dark with that realization. It'd seemed like months, it was less than two weeks. It hadn't even been 14 days since she'd gotten to the new base and met up with Ripcord for the first time on the way to England. Unfortunately she knew the next ten would fly. She gazed in his direction, noticing how lost in thought he was as well.   
"You going home?" She asked to break the silence.   
"Yeah I suppose," He smiled. "Unless you're willing to throw a sales pitch."   
She smiled in response, and shrugged. "I don't know if it's much of a sales pitch... I was thinking maybe of taking a road trip, nice long drive, hit the open pavement for a bit." His green eyes grew playful, taking on an almost boyish quality.   
"We'll mind if I provide the car and the final destination then?" He asked. She folded her arms, and raised her eyebrows with an untrusting grin.   
"Depends." She said, half seriously. "What's the destination, and more importantly - what's the ride?" He shrugged his broad shoulders in an overdramatic fashion, sighing loudly.   
"I suppose the destination could be a small house just outside of Columbus." He let an impish grin creep over his face as he added "and the ride might as well be a '76 Stingray."   
She froze for a quick second, unsure of what he'd just said. "You have a '76 Ray?" She asked with disbelief.. His grin grew larger.   
"Yeah." He stated matter-of-fact, almost as if he was claiming to have a Chevy Van, or something ordinary.   
"Corvette?" She asked to confirm, still disbelieving him. She cocked her head sideways, trying to read him, to see if he was kidding around. He maintained his wide grin and nodded.   
"Yeah, care to take a look at it?" She scanned his face one more time, still trying to decide if he were for real.   
"If you're serious, oh yeah!"   
"Well I'll tell you what..." He smiled as he lets a pause extend, then tugged at her her collar, looking over her BDUs. "If Specialist Krieger will tell Courtney to meet Wally on the third level of the parking garage in about fifteen mintues, you might be able to catch a glimpse of it..." He let his voice trail off, baiting her on purpose. She nodded, a kid-on-Christmas-Eve look coming over her face.   
"Courtney will be there. She needs to see this with her own eyes." She could see him chuckle before turning and heading towards his dorm.   
  
15 minutes to change and pack- a blessing in disguise. It felt good to be back in civilian clothes, to hang up "Specialist Krieger" as Ripcord said. The lack of time prevented her from worrying too much about what to wear; they had a long drive, and she wanted to be comfortable. She opted for a favorite pair of worn-in jeans, Keds and a plain white T-shirt, enjoying the feeling of her soft, shoulder length hair against her neck. She'd worry about changing when they reached Ohio. She cursed herself for being so nervous, for even agreeing to go home with him, meeting his family was a big step, what if he wasn't ready for that? What if he were just being polite, saying he'd like if she did? She should have just let him go to be with his family, then they could have met back up in Hawaii.. She slung her garment bag over her shoulder, ignoring the nagging doubts that flooded her mind, and headed out to the parking garage.   
  
Her jaw dropped the minute she stepped out of the stairwell. She'd believed that he might have been telling the truth, having a Stingray, but never did she imagine how tricked out it would be. Parked in front of her sat a mint condition cherry red 1976 Corvette Stingray, clean lines, scoop hood, rear spoiler, chrome alloy wheels... she shook her head. Ripcord was standing by the driver side door, the same broad grin on his face.   
"This?" She practically choked out. "This is yours?"   
"Yup, sure is," He turned to look over the car, running a hand along the polished quarter panel. She could see the sheen of the glossy red paint job even with the dim lighting that overtook the parking garage. "Took a good chunk of my career to pay for it." He shrugged, continuing. "The body is basically the only thing stock on it." Her eyes were transfixed on the car, as she circled around, still disbelieving he owned a "dream car," half listening to him, half imagining what it must sound like.   
"Turn it over?" She asked seriously, not taking her eyes from the vehicle. She hadn't even noticed him walking up behind her, his boasting grinning turning into a warm smile as he approached. Without a word, he stepped in behind her, hooking his arm around and dropping the keys into her hand.   
"Why don't you?" He said softly.   
She smiled, biting her bottom lip as the Christmas-Eve look turned to that of Christmas-Morning. She looked from the keys to the car, closing a tight fist around them and hopping into the drivers side before he changed his mind. She admired the dark firethorn interior for a split second, making the car even more desirous - the '76 being the only year to have that interior as an option. She ran a hand along the flawless black dash, pausing to run her fingers over each of the perfectly spaced holes in the double exposed spokes of the custom 13" black grip Nardi steering wheel. She shifted her grip to the custom black handled gear shift knob, her hand then dropping to trace the red gear indentations on the shift panel. Hand painted, she noted, no detail was spared.   
She paused for a second after placing the key in the ignition, drinking in the interior one more time before gently turning the key. The engine kicked over with a low rumble turned growl, and she closed her eyes for a second. Perfectly adjusted timing, each of the plugs firing perfectly, the pistons seemed to sing. She reached down by the custom clutch to the hood release mechanism, giving it a quick turn before sliding back out the drivers side door. The chassie shook slightly, the tell tale sign of a larger custom engine being installed. He'd raised the scoop front hood before she arrived, using the prop-rod to keep it stationary. This is the part that mattered. A fancy body was one thing, but it would still be worthless without the engine. She took in a deep breath, leaning under the hood to get a closer look and listen of the clean engine below her, seeing the painstaking steps he'd taken to maintain her.   
"Custom V-8 Twin, impact extruded pistons, Rochester quadrajet 4 barrel carb..." She said above the rumbling. "Horses?" He carefully leaned in beside her, resting his elbows on the top of the quarter panel and nodded towards the engine.   
"Two twenty." He said, almost in a reverent tone. She nodded. Anything larger would blow the exhaust. She watched the radiator fan churn for another quick second before standing back up, running her hand down the side of the quarter panel.   
"She's beautiful." She said seriously, thoroughly impressed. "You sure you want to take her on a long haul?"   
He let out a small laugh, still looking at the engine.   
"Not really a choice. We can't exactly get a cab to come up here." She smiled as he shrugged. "'Sides, I've had to take her between Bragg and Columbus a lot. She can handle the road." An almost arrogant smile crossed his face as he still stared at the engine. "Hell, she can own the road."   
She rolled her eyes and slightly shakes her head at his bragging, but she didn't say a word. He had reason to brag, the Stingray was something to be proud of. He unclamped the proprod, slowly lowering the hood to the front grill before gently removing his hands. This definitely was his baby. He crossed over to her side, leaning on the back quarter panel next to Courtney and smiled, staring into her lit eyes. "You ready?" He asked. She nodded, shifting her gaze from his momentarily.   
"Good to go." She told him, walking over to pick up where she'd dropped her garment bag. Doubts overcame her once more as he took the case from her and placed it carefully in the trunk atop the T-Tops, next to his battered looking LC2 ruck. "You're sure about going to see your family?" She questioned almost nervously. "I mean, you're sure they'll be okay with it?"   
He shrugged again, almost as if it were no big deal. "They shouldn't mind, there's always room for one more at my Mom's place." He turned to her, putting his hands on her arms and searching her eyes. "Are you okay with it?" She looked through him for a brief second, then found comfort in his eyes. She dropped the small black wire framed sunglasses she'd been using to push her hair back over her eyes and smiled.   
"I'm okay with it." She said with mock confidence. "Maybe see what makes you tick" He smiled, giving her arms a quick squeeze. She'd finally taken her eyes off the car long enough to drink him in as well, happy to see he had chosen to simply wear jeans as well. She could barely see the white 82nd logo printed on the front of his black T-shirt from beneath his brown leather bomber jacket, as he dramatically opened the passenger side door, waving towards it.   
"Your charoit awaits my dear." She shook her head, crossing over to join him on the passenger side, offering her hand in a mock- medievil-my-lady gesture, before sliding into the bucket seat.   
"You just let me know if you get tired, Skyboy." She told him, as he shut the passenger side door for her. He leaned slightly into the window, planting a quick peck on the cheek before flashing a perfect smile.   
"Superman doesn't get tired."   
"Told you, you don't always have to be Superman." She said returning a smile of her own. "Even heroes need some R& R."   
  
She watched as he crossed over to the driver side, shutting the door while still outside of the vehicle. He put his hands on the car frame between the open T-Top, jumping through the open window. He pulled a pair of silver framed aviator-style sunglasses from the inside pocket of his brown leather jacket, confidently sliding them on before turning to her. Flashing the same great smile he flatly added: "But it's fun being the hero." He pushed the 8-Track cassette into the player, The Rolling Stone's "Paint it Black" blared through the speakers, near drowning out the sound of the engine. She shook her head. She could feel the large engine still vibrating up through the floorboards, and even above the loud radio, she could hear the squeal of the tires against pavement as he reved the engine before popping the car into gear. He tore through the lot, the tires and engine echoing loudly as he raced down the spiral exit ramp. He slowed momentarily to pass through the gate, briefly hearing the attendant exclaim "This is not a speedway!" She threw her head back against the headrest and laughed, for the first time in a long time feeling good, almost like herself.   
He continued showing off on base, stopping and dropping the car into gear every so often, lighting up the tires and pushing the engine redline. He stopped only twice, once when he noticed the Law Enforcement vehicle off in the distance, once when he almost broadsided a beat up looking Ford Taurus, the driver of which had blown through a stop sign. Krieger stood through the passenger side T-top, shouting a few choice obscenities before he once again redlined the engine, causing her to fall back into the bucket seat. It was going to be a great ride.   
  
The minute the Stingray's touched "free" pavement, Ripcord let out a quick war cry before dropping the car through all 5 gears, quickly hitting close to 130 miles per hour. Being stationed in the middle of nowhere did have some advantages. For the first time, she didn't mind being a passenger, didn't sit white-knuckled in the front seat while someone else drove. She felt safe, trusting him even as the car careened through the narrow Shennendoah Valley roads at near 70. It was a bit out of there way, but very scenic, the true purpose of a road trip to begin with.. She sat sideways, making sure to keep her tennis shoes off of the door panel as she rested her crossed ankles on the frame. During long straightaways, when he could keep the car in fifth, he'd rest an arm across her shoulder as she stared out at the scenic mountains, every so often leaning her cheek to brush against the back of his knuckles. They were still slightly bruised from the shot he'd given Colonel Courage the day before. Hotseat had covered, but was upset, she knew he spoke to Ripcord privately later on. She shook her head to clear it. That was base stuff, best to leave it back there. They had 48 short hours, she didn't want to waste a second.   
The conversation was kept light, mostly shouted over the loud 70's rock music blasting from his custom 8 Track stereo system, revolving around cars, the scenery, and trading playful jabs. He'd just removed the second tape of the Kiss Alive II tape as it ended, reaching for his AC/DC Highway to Hell/Back in Black mix as David Cassidy's "I think I love you" came over the regular radio. She hugged her arms around herself as she looked out the passenger window, smiling, thinking about how much nicer the words sounded when they came from Ripcord. First, on the Chinook, when she thought maybe he'd been delusional, then again back by her dorm, when he'd kissed her for the first time. She slightly laughed at how nervous she'd been, thinking back to Hotseat and his "high school" comment, but she didn't mind. It was the good kind of nervous, the kind that reminded her that inside Covergirl was still Courtney Krieger, the girl who'd get butterflies over just one sweet kiss from Wallace Weems. He let the song play for another minute himself before popping in the harder mix 8 Track.   
  
They stopped in a small town outside of Charleston, West Virginia at diner he'd found on one of his trips home from Bragg. He'd requested the booth nearest to where'd he'd parked, easier to keep an eye on the car with it's open windows and T- Tops. It'd been near noon, and although they'd both skipped breakfast, neither one had much of an appetite, rationing 3 days worth of MRE's for a full seven tended to have that effect. Still, he promised the food was some of the best he'd tasted, and once again, her trust in him wasn't unfounded. Though they'd both started out with a not hungry attitude, two plates were cleaned, leaving them with the awkward moment the check came. He immediately reached for both the check and his wallet, as did she. He shook his head with a smile, telling her "It's okay, I've got it." She gave him a soft smile back.   
"So this would be our first date?" She asked, with a shake of her head. He chuckled a little.   
"C'mon a date in a diner? Gimme some credit." His eyes once again lit up with his a boyish charm as he continued. "Wait till we get to Columbus, I'll show you what a date is."   
"Really?" She challenged. She cocked her head to the side, slightly raising her eyebrows and smiled. "So you were a well experienced dater back in Ohio?" She stood up, grabbing her beige cloth jacket, pulling it on as she turned to leave.   
He stood and grabbed his jacket as well, slipping it on as he nears her walking away, nonchalantly. "Well there were plenty of other football players the girls could pick from..." He let his voice trail off and grins. "But I was the only one who could offer a date at twenty thousand feet." He walked past her even before she stopped short at the statement   
"That's not what you have in mind, is it?" She asked warily dropping her smile. He turned at the door, giving a huge grin before turning back around and walking out of the door.   
  
The diner had been a little out of the way place, off the beaten path from the main highway. Even though he'd found it with no problem, she was sure they'd passed the same block a few times trying to get back. She had to laugh, thinking back to the streets in Peoria, where she grew up, her Grandfather from Chicago often claiming to have gotten lost in "Suburban Hell."   
"Why don't you just stop at that gas station?" She started to say as he pulled to a rolling stop at the red light. She cut herself short when she heard the revving of the engine. A lone BMW pulled along side the Stingray at the stoplight, gunning the engine a few times setting forth a challenge, it's whiny little engine churning hard. She leaned forward in her seat, looking around Ripcord to size up the other vehicle. She tilted her head downward, raising an eyebrow and sliding her sunglasses towards the edge of her nose, giving a once over first to the car, then to the young driver and passengers inside. Satisfied, she sat back in the bucket seat, sliding her glasses back towards the bridge of her nose. "Brand new 1981 633Csi" she told Ripcord, over the loud roar of his revving engine. The car rocked forward slightly, as if itching to leap into gear itself. "170 horses, stock, kid doesn't look smart enough to custom." She grabbed hold of the dashboard, turning for a second with a huge smile "Smoke 'em, Wally."   
"Won't even take it out of fourth..." He bragged, "Won't even need to."   
"Forget that." She shouted, looking again towards the BMW. "Winning is overrated. Crushing on the other hand, that's just plain fun." He smiled wickedly, eyes fixed on the stoplight ahead.   
"Just hang on..." He warned as the light turned green. Squealing tires screamed into the sunlight as the car underneath him finally won out, jumping effortlessly into first gear. It redlined quickly, almost fishtailing as the smell of burned rubber filled the interior. She watched as he determinedly jammed on the clutch, slamming the custom stick shift back towards second gear, immediately followed up by third, then fourth. The two cars raced neck in neck for a second, the small English car with no idea Wally was just toying with them. He'd hang back, letting them ride up his fender, almost to the point they'd pull ahead, then gun his engine slightly, bringing the Stingray to the front. Finally, he put on another wicked grin, stating "Prepare to be burned." as he kicked the shift into fifth. His car might as well have had nitrous.   
  
Near dizzy from laughing, she unclipped her seatbelt, turning around in the passenger seat to face the back. She hopped up on her knees, one hand grabbing hold of the seat back, and pulling herself up through the open T-Top to let out a war cry and taunt of her own towards the defeated BMW as it grew more distant. He grabbed hold of the belt loop on the back of her jeans as he'd found the entrance ramp back onto I-79, hitting it still at about 70 mph, keeping her from being thrown from the vehicle. She laughed again, as she was thrown to her left, his strong hand helping steady her. She let go with her second hand to help push back the hair blowing towards her face, staring backwards down the four lane highway. Getting aggravated, she turned back around, still kneeling on the passenger seat through the T-top, feeling wind push it back for her. She held both hands up above her head, throwing her head back and laughing as he still held on, jerking the wheel right or left, slightly tapping the brake or gunning the engine from time to time. She'd lower her hands but never had to grab the car frame, enjoying playing the private game with him as the post-mission-high continued to take over. Still laughing, she let herself drop back into the car, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head to again keep her hair back. She shifted back to sitting sideways, this time bending her knees to keep them inside the car and up on the passenger seat, looping one arm around them and resting her back close to him. Stopping giggling she lowered the still blasting radio, looking back and upwards towards his face, and running her hand against his clean shaven cheek.   
"Thank you, Wally." She said, seriously, staring up into his face. "For all of this." He leaned his head down against hers, for a second, smiling warmly, adding a soft "You're welcome." Picking his head back up, she once again raised the volume on the radio, still blaring AC/DC songs and grinning.   
  
They'd turned onto I-70, the last leg of the journey, the green highway signs stating Columbus decreasing in miles rapidly as the sun started fading away. Nine hours. She'd noted. Even with the Shennendoah detour and diner stop, it'd only taken nine hours. Part of her was disappointed he hadn't lived further, but she remembered it was easier to be a passenger. It'd been easy for her to shift around, stand and stretch when she felt like it. His only breaks had been when they stopped for gas, sodas or nature calls, and she could almost see the drive taken its toll. She said nothing to him about it, content to let him be Superman.   
  
Her stomach grew in knots again as he pulled off the main highway into a quiet looking suburban community, knowing they had to be close. Though it'd been near dusk, she nonchalantly dropped her sunglasses again over her eyes, before running her hands through her hair. She'd taken his advice at the last rest stop, him insisting jeans and a T-shirt would be fine. She at that point being too lazy to change optied instead to add a soft blue knit sweater to dress up the denim jeans a bit. Now as the time grew nearer, she wished she had taken the time to choose something else as she checked herself in the passenger side mirror. She thought she could see him chuckle out of the corner of her eye, but ignored it.   
Turning onto Fairfax road, he pulled the car into the third driveway, her noticing first the '71 Mustang convertible parked in the driveway next to a later model Oldsmobile Cutless Sierra, but shook her head. There'd be time for that later. The front yard was small, but well manicured, and she took a second to stare at the large, brown ranch-style house which loomed before them, complete with wrap-around porch and overhang. A mounted American Flag hung by the front door, making her smile, the tell-tale sign of a parent proud of their military son.   
"Have you always lived here? Grew up here, I mean?" She asked, trying to picture him as a young boy climbing one of the many trees, or playing by the large front porch. He nodded, taking in the place, bringing a boyish smile to his face.   
"Yeah, I lived here from the time they'd brought me home from the hospital till the day I left for basic." She nodded, a bit of jealousy overtaking her for a brief moment, before she put on her brave face and followed him to the front door. She'd been in fights with Cobra. She'd nearly been killed, she had killed. She'd trekked a jungle for about a week without many provisions. She could handle meeting his family... Right? 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three   
  
Ripcord slowly began to ascend the wooden steps of the porch, still wearing the smile he'd had since he'd carefully pulled up into the driveway of the squat house. He took in every detail he could, each small thing was a piece of home. The worn-in welcome mat, the porch swing, the lacy white drapes in the windows, the flag mounted on one of the porch's columns, even the small potted plants scattered around. Ripcord reached for the knob of the front door and gave it a slow turn. In a very slow motion he cracked the door and carefully eased it open. Immediately his senses were assaulted. The sound of a radio blaring Cheap Trick's "Didn't I See You Cryin'?" were heard along with a feminine voice singing along with the song. Additionally the pleasant smell of cooking seasonings filled the air. Both made Ripcord smile even wider as he carefully slipped into the house. He slowly made his way through the living room with Covergirl in tow. As he passed through the room his eyes scanned over the details, the soft cream colored walls, the worn-in brown carpet, the brown brick fireplace, the well worn couches, and several pictures of two children in various stages of growth that adorned the walls. As he crept slowly into a hallway just on the narrow side, the music and the woman's voice became louder. Finally Ripcord eased in a open doorway which lead into a good sized kitchen. Near the kitchen's sink was a young woman with fiery red hair pulled up into a pony tail which bounced up and down as she danced to the music. She was dressed in a dark blue jump suit and jacket, with an EMT emblem dominating the back of the jacket. Ripcord let a huge grin play over his face as he carefully stepped behind the shorter woman, watching her season several pork chops.   
"If you're cookin' then I'm orderin' a pizza." Ripcord called out over the noise of the music.   
"Wally!" The woman yelled as she turned around with a bright look on her face as she wrapped a hug around Ripcord.   
"I take it you missed me huh?" Ripcord asked with the same playful look on his face.   
"Damn right I did, ya big lug." The woman said with a smirk as she gave a playful shove to Ripcord's shoulder. The woman then swung her eyes towards Covergirl, which caused her joyful face to suddenly take on an air of disbelief. However almost immediately her face brighten again, much more so than before. "Oh my God! Courtney Krieger!" The woman shouted out. The woman immediately ran the short distance to Covergirl and began to act extremely flustered as she began to talk in a swift tone and used a lot of body language. "Miss Krieger, you have not idea how big of a fan I am of yours! I still have that Comso with you on the cover!"   
"Courtney, this is Kitty, my sister." Ripcord said with a laugh, "And I take it Kitty already knows you."   
"Hi Kitty." Covergirl said, letting out a small chuckle as a slight look of embarrassment crossed her face. As the look subsided she extended her hand to Ripcord's sister.   
"This is so an honor!" Kitty shrieked with delight as she swiftly shook her hand. After a moment a realization seemed to cross her face as she raised an eyebrow. "But what's a model doing with my brother?" She said in a confused tone. Covergirl opened her mouth to say something but it caught in her throat.   
"She's a friend of mine, she's stationed at Knox. I went up there on TDY one week and we met." Ripcord said as he stepped towards the two similarly built women.   
"So that's where you went when you disappeared from the scene three years ago." Kitty said with a slow nod of her head. "So how close of friends are you?" Kitty asked in a playful voice as she shifted her gaze between the two soldiers. The younger woman's comment brought a blush to Covergirl's face as the ex-model looked to Ripcord briefly before shifting her gaze away from both Weems' siblings.   
"Hey does that guy that works at the Chinese place still have a thing for you?" Ripcord asked.   
"Don't change the subject." Kitty said playfully to her brother as she pointed her index finger at him.   
"Well if he does then I hope you're willing to deal with him tonight." Ripcord said as he grin and leaned against the wall. Kitty shot a quizzical look at Ripcord before he spoke up again. "I smell the rolls burning."   
"Shit!" Kitty called out as she shot towards the oven and flung the door downwards.   
"Where's Mom?" Ripcord asked as he laughed at the sight of sister's near dive for the oven.   
"In the back!" Kitty shouted back as she quickly threw on thick insulated mittens and pulled a roll filled cookie sheet out of the oven.   
"I'll be back in a minute." Ripcord said, still laughing at his sister as he passed by Covergirl, giving a reassuring squeeze on her upper arm.   
  
Ripcord sighed heavily as he stared down at the knob of the thick wooden door that lead from the small laundry room to the back yard of the house. He took a moment to collect his thoughts somewhat before his hand slowly reached towards the knob. As the door silently swung outwards Ripcord's eyes took in the details as the dying afternoon sunshine cast a hazy light on the yard. The dominant feature was a big oak tree in the corner of the yard with a worn out tree house and tire swing still attached to it's branches. His eyes then fell an area sectioned off with old railroad ties, his mother's garden. In the summer it was a beautiful sight. Nearly every color of the rainbow would be represented, a myriad of different plant and vegetables. However now in autumn only a few sections devoted to vegetables still held color. Kneeling down in front of several tomato plants was an older woman, still dressed in nurse's scrubs. The woman had wire frame glasses pushed up into her fiery red hair, the same as her children, with the exceptional streak of gray scattered in just a few places. Her hands worked their way over several of the tomatoes, giving gentle squeezes to the bright red vegetables. Ripcord reluctantly made his way towards the older woman, stopping about ten feet behind where the woman was kneeling.   
"Um....Hi Mom." Ripcord finally called out after some initial hesitation. The woman slowly dropped her hands onto her knees then twisted her body at an equally slow pace. She gave a single slow nod in Ripcord's direction before she twisted back around and began inspecting the tomatoes again.   
"Hello Wally." She spoke in a slow deliberate voice. "Does your sister know you're here?"   
"Yea...Yeah, I talked to Kitty a minute ago." Ripcord responded, casting his eyes down to neatly clipped grass in the back yard.   
"She should have dinner ready shortly. We still cook extra so there should be plenty." She stated in the same, almost monotone, voice. "How long are you here for?"   
"Jus...Just today and some of tomorrow." Ripcord said, still tripping over his words somewhat. "I...I have company, a friend of mine."   
"Well, there's always room for one more." She said, adding a slight shrug of her shoulders. "He's welcome to stay."   
"Sh..She." Ripcord corrected after a long moment.   
"Oh. I see." She responded simply.   
"Well, I'm gonna go see if Kitty needs help." Ripcord said with a sigh after a small eternity of silence had stretched out between the two.   
"That's good. I'll be along shortly." She responded, allowing a single slow nod again. Without a word Ripcord turned and walked solemnly back towards the house. Once the sound of the door closing was heard Ripcord's mother twisted her body around again. Her dark green eyes stared longingly back at the spot where Ripcord had been standing. "It's good to have you home again Wally." She called out to no one, her sad voice just barely above her breath.   
  
Ripcord's eyes scanned over the well kept dinning room, taking in all the familiar details he knew by heart. The white lace drapes pulled elegantly to side of the two windows in the room. The tall wooden china cabinet that sat against the blank back wall, several treasures, priceless only in the eyes of the Weems family, displayed proudly behind it's glass doors. The well polished wood of the rectangle shaped table and six padded chairs that sat around it. Four of the those chairs were occupied, his mom at the back end of the table, the Weems children across from each other in the seats nearest their mother. The same spots they'd occupied ever since...well ever since. Ripcord tired to ignore that train of thought, instead focusing on the modest array of food set out on the table. Pork chops, mashed potatoes, chopped carrots, and rolls. Not exactly five star dining to many, but to Ripcord it was a taste of home. That was all that mattered. He looked over and gave Covergirl a warm smile before his mother spoke up.   
"Kitty if you would please say grace." She spoke as she gave a single nod.   
"Sure thing." Kitty said in her normal cheery voice before bowing her head, causing the other three people at the table to follow suit. The young woman then went through blessing before saying 'amen', causing the others to utter the word as well lift their heads. As his family started to dig in Ripcord took Covergirl's plate with a smile and began to fill it for her. As he set the plate in front of her and began to work on his own, Kitty broke the silence. "So Wally, what are you doing now? You mentioned being down at Benning?"   
"They've got me there as a special instructor, they've been sucking up everybody that's logged a lot of jumps to give a hand down there. The number of DIs has been dropping, so they're looking for help where ever they can find it." Ripcord stated with a shrug as he set his plate in front of him.   
"Did you hear about your Cousin Jacob?" Ripcord's mother asked before Kitty could follow up his response. "He's finally graduated Law School. He made some good scores on his tests and he's already gotten offers from several firms to walk on with them."   
"Really? That's good for him, he should have enough from that to set himself up pretty quickly." Ripcord let out a small chuckle before continuing. "That should have Aunt Mary overjoyed, one less kid in the house."   
"One down, four to go." Kitty added with a smile. "If Aunt Mary doesn't give out soon her nerves will." The comment raised another chuckle from the siblings before Kitty continued. "So Wally, what ever happened with that promotion?"   
"Truth be told sis, I dunno. I was about to go before the NCO board for review then I got reassigned and the promotion just kinda got lost in the trail of paperwork." Ripcord stated with a shrug.   
"So Courtney," Ripcord's mother started again, not giving Kitty a chance to give any follow ups to her brother's statement. "Kitty tells me you used to be a model, what was that like?"   
"It was... interesting." Covergirl stated with a slight nod of her head.   
"Oh, c'mon," Kitty said with a smile as she leaned forward, "It had to be more than just 'interesting'." Kitty said playfully to female soldier.   
"It had its good parts and bad..." Covergirl said before looking down for a brief moment. After a short moment had passed she looked up and smiled at Kitty. "I don't miss it, but I did have some good times."   
"Drop it sis." Ripcord stated flatly as a sly look crossed Kitty's face.   
"What?" Kitty said with a playful tone. "I just wanna make sure she's not a psycho stalker like Anna was, somebody has to watch out for you bro."   
"Drop that too." Ripcord said with a shake of his head.   
"Why? Afraid she knows you're back and will come knocking on the door in the middle of the night like last time?" Kitty shot back with a slight laugh, causing her mother to shake her head. "Well," Kitty said playfully as she turned to Covergirl, "Would you like to know about Wally's favorite stalker?"   
"I mean it Kitty," Ripcord warned in a less than serious tone, "Tell her about Anna and I'll tell 'your idol' here about your fiasco with Phil. Still making payments Kitty?"   
"Oh, don't you dare Wallace Andrew Weems!" Kitty said as a blush crossed her freckle covered face. The whole exchange raised a fit of laughter from Covergirl that she quickly tired to play off as cough, which in itself rose laughter from the two Weems children.   
"Okay kids, I'm going to bed." Ripcord's mother said, resisting a chuckle of her own at the antics of her two children. "Kitty don't forget about the picnic after Church tomorrow, I'll be leaving early to help set it up." The older woman then turned to Ripcord and spoke with a solemn tone. "I know you won't want to join us Wally, but Courtney is welcome to go with Kitty in the morning if she wants."   
  
Another fit of laughter rose from the two women as they turned to the next page in one of the thick photo albums. Their attention was focused on a picture that showed a much younger teenaged Ripcord standing in the middle of field, a parachute harness on, the silk of the parachute itself flapping in the breeze. The humor in the picture was in the Superman costume the skydiver was wearing and the overly dramatic pose he was striking.   
"This is what happens when you decide to do a jump on Halloween." Kitty explained to Covergirl. The two women turned their gaze towards the hallway as Ripcord reentered the room, sipping from a mug of beer as he crossed over the couch that they were on.   
"Wasn't it cold jumping in tights Wally?" Kitty asked in between her fits of laughter.   
"Oh God, not that picture." Ripcord responded with a roll of his eyes as he plopped down into the well-worn sofa next to Covergirl, who immediately shot him a knowing glance. The paratrooper immediately pointed out the next picture, showing a younger Kitty in an flashy, pink 'princess' outfit. "Now this picture has a funny story behind it."   
"I think I forgot to feed the dog...." Kitty trailed off, averting her eyes from the photo album.   
"First off, we don't have a dog. Secondly, you're not gettin' outta this one." Ripcord said with a chuckle as he reached past Covergirl and clamped a hand down on his sister's shoulder, pinning her to couch.   
"This so not fair Wally." Kitty said flatly with a shake of hear head.   
"You see," Ripcord started with an almost sing song tone to his voice. "Kitty was in a school play at the time this picture was taken. She won the lead, so I give her that much credit. But during one of the biggest scenes in the play, Miss Weems here goes totally blank. She stands on stage with the boy lead, in complete silence for two long minutes. Then the director calls out her line but Kitty is too freaked to realize it at first so finally after the director yelled out the line at the top of her lungs for the third time, Kitty chokes out the line. But of course by then the whole auditorium was in an uproar."   
"I am so gonna kill you for that one Wally." Kitty responded with a shake of her head as she crossed her arms, which in turn raised a laugh from Covergirl. "Okay, show's over." Kitty stated as she reached down and turned the page. The move caused something to tumble out of the back of the album and fall lazily down to the carpeted floor. Covergirl immediately reached down to pick up the small photograph. She then turned the photograph over and looked at the image on it. Covergirl recognized the house in the background as being the one there were in now. On the wide steps to the front porch were four people, two adults and two children. The two children were recognizable as Ripcord and Kitty. The woman, dressed in a white nurse's uniform, was obviously their mother. The man dressed in the uniform of a firefighter however was new to Covergirl. He resembled the current Ripcord only somewhat older. The each of the people in the picture looked honestly happy. Like something right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.   
"Who's this Wally?" Covergirl asked as she tapped her finger on the man in the picture. Covergirl turned in time to see a depressed look cross over Ripcord's face just before he shot to his feet and quickly slipped out of the front door. 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four   
  
She watched as his mood turned sullen, his green eyes growing dark before he turned and silently exited the house. She turned slowly towards Kitty, who now sat forlorn beside her on the couch. "What?" Covergirl asked, with questioning eyes. Kitty gingerly took the photo back from Covergirl, carefully replacing it in the back of the photo album.   
"That... that's our father." She told Courtney, her normally bright eyes now more melancholy. She nodded her head slowly, adding softly: "He died a ways back."   
"Oh." Was the only thing Courtney could seem to muster. "I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't know." She'd avoided bringing up the subject of Ripcord's dad, unsure of how he fit into the picture. Kitty pursed her lips and shook her head no.   
"It's okay. It's just... we don't talk about it much. It hit Wally pretty hard." Covergirl nodded, looking towards the front door.   
"Can I ask how it happened?" She said, tentatively.   
"He was a fireman." Kitty said, matter-of-fact. "He went out one night, and just didn't come back.. Big factory fire over in Columbus, I don't know all the details. Like I said, we don't talk about it much. Wally was 12, I was about 9." She closed the album, slowly standing and turning to put it on the shelf.   
"Were they close?" Courtney asked, turning back to the red-haired woman. Kitty nodded in response.   
"Very." She responded solemnly. " It hit him pretty hard, really changed him, you know? He stopped coming to church with us after that, and he started getting into sky-diving, all kinds of crazy stuff. Always kind of figured he'd end up a fireman like dad, I think that's part of the reason mom's so disappointed." At least that'd explained the tension during dinner, Covergirl thought. She'd noticed his mom seemed almost indifferent to him, but she'd thought it may have been more of a pacifist issue, his mom being a nurse.   
"I'm really sorry." She repeated, standing up herself. Kitty shook her head no.   
"You didn't know." She said, with a heavy hearted smile. Covergirl nodded in response, then hitched her thumb towards the door.   
"I'm just going to go check on Ripcord." The brightness returned to the young red-head's eyes.   
"What did you call him?" She asked with a sly grin. Covergirl stopped in her tracks and cursed to herself. His codename. She'd used it more than his real name, just at this point seemed like second nature. She shouldn't have come.   
"Just a nickname..." She played it off, hoping it would pass as she opened the front door.   
  
He looked almost lost on the large porch, leaning by the thick corner post, one arm raised so he could rest his forehead against it as he stared up at the bright night sky. The cool night air sent a chill through her, as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself, the same chill not phasing him as he stood bare-armed in his black T-shirt. She closed the door quietly behind her, walking up and leaning her back against the waist high railing to face him. He didn't change expression, didn't glance her way, almost as if he were somewhere else.   
"I'm sorry..." She said softly, hoping to break his trance.   
"I guess Kitty told you huh." He said flatly, still staring off into the distance, not turning to face her.   
"Yeah..." She said dispiritedly, not sure of what else to say. She searched his face with her eyes, trying to read him, not understanding what she saw.   
"Don't worry about it. You didn't know." He said, quietly. She stood for a moment in silence, wanting to hold him, provide comfort, unsure of what he wanted, what he needed.   
"She said you were close... he'd be really proud Wally." She tried.   
"Would he?" He asked, slightly raising his voice. "Would I even be here? Or would I be like my family? Still living the perfect life in the prefect neighborhood? In the same department as Dad? Living just down the street? Still have my beliefs? Still know my mother? After he died I became something else. That eats at me. How do I know he'd be proud of me? What if he'd be like Mom?" She stared at him for a second, freezing, not quite knowing what to say, how to fix this, how to make it better. Mecahnics were so much easier. She rationalized. So much easier.   
"I didn't know him." She said softly, taking his free hand in hers. "But I know you. And I know who you turned out to be. I can't tell you what would have happened, no one can, Wally, I can only tell you what I see. And what I see is reason for anyone to be proud. If your mom can't accept that, it's her problem, not yours. I don't want to overstep my bounds here, but honestly..." She raised his hand to rest her cheek against for a brief second before continuing. "I feel sorry for her. She's missing out. I like who you've become, I respect who you've become." For the first time, he turned, facing her, searching her eyes.   
"Why do you stick with me Courtney?" She didn't even need to think about it.   
"Why?" She asked in disbelief, slightly shaking her head. "Why wouldn't I stick with you, Wally?" She held fast to his free hand, covering it with both of hers, cautiously not touching the bandages which still surrounded his forearm. "You're confident and strong, and you're smart and funny, and you're warm and caring, and don't you get it? Can't you see? " I stick with you because to me." She paused a second, biting her bottom lip."To me you are Superman."   
"I know. I jus... I just needed to hear that." He responded, bringing a smile to her lips and causing her eyebrows to raise.   
"You KNOW, huh?" She asked with a slight shake of her head. He smiled in return.   
"I guess Fastdraw is rubbing off on me." She instantly clenched, gritting her teeth and shuddering, then gave a small smile.   
"That's just not funny." He chuckled, leaning forward and softly kissing her forehead.   
"Sorry." His smile grew larger, as he took hold of both her hands. "But honestly, thank you. I really needed to hear what you said." She squeezed his warm hands tightly, searching his eyes.   
"Wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true." She allowed a small smile to creep over her face. "Besides, there is that picture to prove it."   
"That's just wrong." He let a slightly embarrassed grin overtake his face as he jerked his head towards the door. "We'd better get back inside, You'll freeze out here." She nodded, running one hand up and down her arm to keep warm.   
"Just know if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here, okay, Superman?" He shot her a warm smile as he opened the screen door to let her through.   
"I'll keep that in mind Courtney."   
  
His sister was sitting sideways on the couch, her back resting against the arm rest, knees bent and feet up on a cushion as she thumbed through the pages of a magazine Covergirl instantly recognized as Vogue. "Thought I was going to have to start flipping the light on and off, 'Ripcord' Kitty said playfully, looking up from her magazine. Covergirl squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the disappointed glance she knew she'd get from him. She should have been more careful, and chastised herself. Great job she'd do if confronted by Cobra for info when an exhuberant red-headed kid sister from Columbus probably could have asked anything and she'd have dropped it.   
"Drop it Kitty." He warned. Turning back to Covergirl he whispered quickly "Please tell me that was the only thing that slipped." She cast her eyes downward, embarrassed that she could have something classified slip and nodded.   
"Aww, what's the matter? Upset I found out about your pet name, Rip?"   
"Keep it up Rollcage." He returned, just as jokingly. His sister quickly blushed, turning serious, causing Ripcord to laugh at her distress.   
"I told you not to talk about Phil!" She said, tossing the magazine in his direction.   
He one handed caught the magazine, in one motion placing it down beside him on the coffee table, just as the large Grandfather clock in the corner chimed, indicating 23:00.   
"Shouldn't you be going to bed?" He asked.   
"Why?" She said slyly. "You two want to be alone? I can take a hint." Ripcord shook his head.   
"Good night, Kitty" He said, with a small smile. She crossed the room to hug him, planting a kiss on his cheek.   
"Night Wally.. It's good to have you home." Turning to Courtney she added: "Don't forget, tomorrow, we talk, right?" She kept her eyes downplayed but nodded slightly in response.   
"I'm actually kind of beat myself; Long Drive." He added, hearing Kitty's door click shut, causing her to nod.   
"Night, Superman" She said, kissing the top of his head, but still not making eye contact.   
  
She'd seen his room when Kitty'd given her the "royal tour" earlier that evening, knew she'd find her bags in there. She pulled her long, white "Class of '76" sleep shirt over her head, taking a minute to scan the comforts of "home." The double bed with it's thick blue quilt, the matching dresser with mirror, a few scattered football trophies sitting atop. She paused for a moment to scan the pictures wedged between the mirrored glass, a few of Wally in his football uniform, one of his sister as a cheerleader, and she shook her head- the all American family.   
  
She figured she'd sleep the minute her head hit the pillow, but sleep would not cooperate. She tossed and turned for over an hour, counting the chimes from the clock as he struck twelve. Wally's room was quiet. Eerily quiet. Not even a clock radio to keep her company. She missed Kitty's bright conversations already. From down the hall, she could hear the faint sounds of the television, set to a low volume. Another fifteen minutes of staring up at the shadowed ceiling passed before she pulled on her robe, and slipped down the hallway. At first, she'd thought he was sleeping. He was strectched out on the large sofa, hands behind his head, wearing a pair of cotton PT shorts and another black 82nd Airborne T-shirt, even though there was a chill in the air throughout the house. She crept besides the couch, not wanting to wake or startle him, when from the glow of the television light, she could see he swung his eyes her way, a light smile forming on his lips.   
  
"Hey Courtney." He said, sitting up. "Something you need?"   
She smiled in return, shaking her head. "No... I just, I heard the TV on, couldn't really sleep."   
"Me either." He scoooted over a little and motioned towards the space next to him on the sofa. "Care to join me?" He asked. She nodded sleepily, sitting down next to him, and giving a small stretch. She didn't care what movie was on the Late Late Show, grateful just for the noise, and even more so for the company. Anorher brief minute or two passed before she rested a weary head against his shoulder and yawned.   
"How are you feeling, by the way. Ribs and all?" He leaned his head down on hers for a brief second, brushing his cheek against the top of her head. "I'm okay, a little sore but I'll be fine in a few days. What about you? How's the temple?"   
She smiled playfully, looking up at him. "I'll live. Make getting another Cosmo cover a little difficult, but I'll live." He raised his hand, sliding it around her back, giving her a one armed hug. She rested her head against his chest, the finding the strong thump-thump sounds comforting.   
"That's fine by me." He added in a dry tone. "'Sides, if you went back into modeling who'd watch Superman's back?" She dropped her head from his chest, sitting up herself instead of resting up against him.   
"Someone who may remember enough not to use a top secret codename in front of a family member maybe." She muttered, scornfully under her breath.   
"Hey," He put his hand under her chin, turning her to face him, leaning his forehead against hers. She kept her eyes downcast. "It was a small, harmless mistake. You played it off well. 'Sides Kitty's not naive. She's an EMT, she knows damn well I didn't burn my arm when I bumped in the barrels of a One-Three-Four on my way out of a helicopter during a training excersise." His voice grew into a whisper, as he lightly brushed her lips, sending a warm flush throughout her. "I don't think less of you because of it." She let her eyes meet his for the first time since her screw up, smiling at the sincerity.   
"Thanks, Skyboy. Guess I just needed to hear that."   
"I hear there's a lot of that goin' around lately." He said while grinning.   
Courtney nodded, cuddling back against his chest. "Yeah...." She agreed, taking a deep breath in. "I'm glad I came, Wally. Really." she added.   
"So am I." He said with a warm smile. Hers faded as the clock struck 0100.   
"So..." She said warily, with a smirk... "Should we be expecting a visit from Anna? It is the middle of the night and all." He smirked before picking up one of the couch's small throw pillows, and gave her a single, light bat to her belly before nodding his head at the TV.   
"Drop it, Courtney." He kidded. "Just shut up and watch Magnum."   
  
Even with the quick glimpses of the hot red Ferrari, she found her head nodding, sleep overtaking her as she rested against Wally's strong arm and chest. She rubbed her eyes a few time in vain, trying to stay awake for his company. The fight was futile. Her eyes finally slid closed for the final time, her head falling forwards slightly. She felt his hand run through her hair once or twice, too tired to wake up, to even offer the warm smile that she carried inside. By the end of the episode, she felt him stand, then near effortlessly lift her from the couch, almost cradeling her in his arms. Had she been coherent, she would have protested, not willing to risk any damage to his ribs.   
  
He gently placed her down on the left side of the double bed, again stroking her hair gently. This time mustered enough strength to grasp at his hand and hold it tightly, not wanting him to leave. "Just for a minute." He whispered, placing a small kiss above her ear. "Just for a minute." She felt the right side of the mattress depress beneath his weight, a content feeling of security washing over her as she fell into deep sleep.   
  
She awoke early, before dawn, his protective arm still wrapped around her, her hand still holding his. She didn't want to move, didn't want to wake him, willing to spend the entire ten day pass locked in his arms, but she knew it wasn't possible. His mom mentioned she'd be up early. She mentioned something about church. She wouldn't understand. She slipped her body out from underneath the safety and warmth of his arm, quickly grabbing her gear and headed for the bathroom to change into a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt. She laced up her tennis shoes and slid out the front door, content to explore his neighborhood on her own. Running helped her relax, collect her thoughts. The sounds of her rubber soled shoes hitting pavement in conjunction with the shallow breathing formed a soothing rhythm, helping to wash away the tension she'd collected in the Weem's house.   
  
She ran a good four miles, letting herself get lost on the similar sidestreets before finding her way back to Fairfax Road, using parked cars as markers to retrace her steps. She spotted the old Impala on the corner and turned left, smiling as she saw the familiar Red Stingray. Beside it sat the late model Olds. Covergirl quickened her pace when she saw his mother approaching the vehicle.   
  
"Mrs. Weems..." She said, near out of breath, coming up on the car. "Can I talk to you a second?" She put her hand on the open door just as the older woman was about to slide in to the driver's seat. She saw her check her watch.   
"I'm a little pressed for time, Courtney, can it wait?" She asked, situating herself on the large bench seat. Covergirl let go of the door frame, starting to shake her head yes, then re-grabbed it, shaking her head no as Mrs. Weems went to shut the door.   
"Actually, no, I'm sorry, it can't. I wanted to talk to you about Wally." Mrs. Weems sighed heavily.   
"What about Wally?" She asked flatly. Covergirl drew in a sharp breath.   
"What you're doing, isn't right. I care about your son a great deal, Mrs. Weems, and it hurts me to see him hurt. What you do... Hurts him. I may be out of line here, but it's not right to just shut off your feelings for someone because you don't like their career choice."   
"His career choice?" She said defensively. "I'm sorry, Courtney, but you don't know what you're talking about." She put the key into the ignition, turning the car over. Covergirl could hear the engine running roughly, obviously in sore need of a tune up, but shook her head to keep it focused on the task at hand. Once again, she held fast to the car's door frame, still not breaking eye contact.   
"I'm talking about you, and this cold shoulder attitude you have towards your son. I mean, so what if he didn't follow in his dad's footsteps? He's doing something that he loves, that trust me, I've seen first hand and know he's the best at."   
"Not that this is any of your business," his mother challenged, her Irish temper now flared. "But my son completely changed after his father died. It was almost as if he became someone I don't even know, someone I can't know."   
"Your son, Mrs. Weems, was twelve. He lost his father. It would make anybody change. How long do you plan on holding that against him?"   
"This discussion is over." She said, trying in vain for a third time to pull the vehicle door closed.   
"No." Courtney told her shaking her head and holding fast to the door. "I'm sorry, but it's not. Your son loves you, it'd be nice to let him know the same, no matter what. It's called unconditional love. You were supposed to sign on for it when you became a parent. He's a great guy, you owe it to both of you to get to know him."   
"Are you through, Miss Krieger?" she asked, in a now more agitated tone. Courtney shook her head.   
"Just about. My grandfather has a saying; "Life is funny, here one minute, gone the next. If you don't say what's on your mind when you have the chance, you may never get the chance." Mrs. Weems quickly looked down and away. The realization slowly started to wash over Covergirl, something she hadn't thought of before. "Is that what it is?" She pressed. "You're not disappointed in him... You're afraid of losing him too..." She said it more of a question than a statement, the wind being knocked from her sails, now not knowing how to relate or what to say.   
"I really am late, Courtney." She said in a quiet voice. Covergirl released her hold on the driver's door, staring down the road as Mrs. Weems drove away. 


	5. Chapter Five

Ripcord finally reached down and slowly turned the knobs of the shower, reluctantly killing the jet of hot water that had been running over him. He slowly stepped from the shower, grabbing a towel off of a small metal rack as he headed for the bathroom's sink. He quickly ran the towel over his body as he stepped in front of the large mirror just above the counter top, his eyes taking in the details of his war-weary body. His chest still looked like hell. The sight of the deep blue and black marks on his flesh caused an unintentional wince to cross the face of the paratrooper. As if that wasn't enough, there was the plastic and gauze that covered his left forearm. Ripcord didn't want to do what he had to do next. He had to check the damage. Ripcord carefully removed the plastic covering from the limb and set it aside while he picked up a pair of scissors from the counter top. Working very carefully he cut the bandages free, causing the soldier to wince as the bandages fell away and his forearm came into view. The mangled flesh had scabbed over and was even starting to fade to scar tissue in some places, but the sight was still gruesome enough to send a shutter through him. Ripcord quickly coated the destroyed skin in an anti-bacterial cream before rewrapping it in several layers of fresh gauze. As soon as he gauze was taped shut, he quickly placed the plastic covering back over the bandages as he tried to push the image of his damaged arm out of his head. He then scooped up his towel off of the counter top and wrapped it around his waist just before he reached for the door handle. Much to his surprise, the door swung open before his hand was anywhere near the knob. The door swung open to reveal Covergirl standing speechless in the doorway, clad only in a sports bra and panties, holding her shorts and a sweatshirt in one hand. Both soldiers froze as soon as their eyes fell on the other, both just standing wordlessly on opposite sides of the door frame. Ripcord let his eyes scan over Covergirl's body before for a quick moment before adverting his eyes. The female soldier did the same in addition to raising her sweater to cover herself as best as she could.   
"Sorry, I thought... I didn't know anyone..." Covergirl stumbled through her incomplete string of short sentences.   
"No, I was just leaving..." Ripcord responded quickly before he unintentionally trailed off. After another short moment had passed in silence, Covergirl broke it with a short laugh, which brought a small smile and a slight blush to her face.   
"Well, this is awkward..." She started before shifting her eyes back towards him, swinging them down towards his chest. "Jeez, Wally, your ribs look like sh...look terrible." Her comment caused Ripcord to throw a quick glance down at his own chest before he shifted his gaze back towards her.   
"It's fine. They're still sore but they're healing fast." He responded with a slow shrug of his shoulders.   
"Good." She responded with a nod as she diverted her eyes away from his battered chest. "I was just going to take a quick shower, if it's okay."   
"Oh..." Ripcord said with a shake of his head, suddenly realizing for the first time that he was in her way. "Yeah, be my guest." Almost immediately both of the two moved forward at the same time, bumping lightly into each other, causing them both to smile and shake their heads. "Sorry." he said again as he moved aside, allowing her to enter the small bathroom. With a glance at Covergirl, he quickly slipped out of the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind him.   
  
Ripcord stepped into the sizable kitchen of his family's house, drawn in by the smell of eggs and bacon. As he stepped in he saw Kitty setting a bowl of scrambled eggs and plate of bacon down on the small table in the back of the kitchen. The soldier took in all the details he could, images of home were the one thing that could never be taken from him. The aroma of the simple, home cooked breakfast. The sight of the hazy, mid-morning sunlight filtering in the through the small windows of the room. His sister setting the table, the light playing over her dull white dress and the bright red hair that cascaded down her shoulders and back. He let each small detail assault his senses, hoping that they could block out the disturbing scenes of battle that had embedded into his mind. He was broken free from his thoughts as his sister turned, the sunlight reflecting in her bright green eyes and on the gold cross around her neck.   
"Well," She said with a warm smile, "Are you gonna eat or just stand there all morning?"   
"Yeah, I can eat." Ripcord said as he returned his smile and headed for the table.   
"You get a chance to say goodbye to Mom before she left?" Kitty asked as she filled a plate for her brother.   
"Yeah, I did." Ripcord responded as he took the plate from his sister and slid into one of the four seats. As he and sister began to dig into their breakfasts, she spoke again.   
"You two make quite the couple. You guys really care for each other don't you?" Kitty asked, keeping her eyes down at the plate in front of her.   
"I don't just like her Kitty. I don't just care for her. I love her. I've never felt this way about anyone. I'd die for her. She's what keeps me going." He responded as he stared out of one of the small windows and out into the cloudless sky.   
"I can tell." She responded with a nod of her head as she offered a warm smile to her brother. "Besides, it's about time you felt that way, it comes off too freaky if just she's obsessed."   
"This is another Anna joke isn't it?" He said with a roll of his eyes.   
"You know it." Kitty returned with a grin. Ripcord shook his head at the comment before he caught sight of movement in the corner of his eye. He shot a glance over to the doorway as Covergirl stepped into the kitchen, nodding to the two siblings. Ripcord's face immediately lit up as she entered the room, finding instant comfort in her warm blue eyes. She came to stop in front of a section of the counter that had a coffee maker situated on it. As she went about pouring herself a cup of coffee, she turned her head towards the table, her strawberry blonde hair slowly swinging with her motion.   
"What time did you want to head back today, Wally?" She asked, flashing another warm smile.   
"Later this afternoon." He responded, offering his own smile in return. After a brief moment the warm smile widened into a grin. "Something we gotta take of first."   
"Should I even ask?" Covergirl responded after a quizzical glance.   
"I wouldn't tell you anyways." He said with grin before sliding back one of the two open chairs at the table. "Hungry?"   
"Nah, coffee's good." She stated with a shake of her head as crossed over to the table and sat down in the offered chair.   
"Suit yourself." Ripcord said with a shrug. After taking a short moment to look over the details of her face, he shifted his gaze to his sister and began to grin. "I'd tell you that the food is good but I wouldn't want to make that big of lie."   
"Oh shut up Wally." Kitty retorted, "My cooking is not that bad."   
"Yes it is." He responded with a false flatness to his statement. "You're just in denial."   
"Fine," She started in a playful tone. "See if I ever cook for you again."   
"No big loss there." Ripcord said with a grin and a shrug.   
"It's great how you both get a long." Covergirl said as she took another sip of coffee before a smile crossed her face. "I'm really glad I got to meet you Kitty. And judging from yesterday, I don't think your cooking's that bad."   
"Thank you." Kitty responded with a nod of her head.   
"Don't believe her," Ripcord started in a playful tone. "See how she's not eating now? She's just tryin' to let you down easy Kitty."   
"Oh shut up Wally." Kitty shot back with a shake of her head as she stood. She quickly carried her empty plate over to the sink before crossing back over to the table. She stepped in behind her brother, wrapping her lightly around his neck and chest in hug. "Well I really have to go, but it was great having you here. Even if it was just a day." She said as she planted a quick kiss on his cheek.   
"Thanks Sis," He responded as he gave her forearms a reassuring squeeze. "Great seeing you again too. I'll drop in when ever I get the chance to, same as always."   
"Yeah," she said as she reluctantly broke her hug away before heading towards the door of the kitchen. "Bye Wally."   
"See ya Kitty, stay outta trouble." He called out, getting a nod and a final look from his sister before she disappeared thought the doorway. Ripcord stared at the doorway for moment before Covergirl's voice brought him back to reality.  
"Your sister's great." She said, flashing a warm smile. "Must run in the family."  
"Yeah," He responded with a smile as he closed his eyes and shook his head for a brief moment. "A regular Superman and Supergirl."  
"I'll say." She said with a nod of her head. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you brought me. I was a little nervous about it at first, but they really are good people."  
"Yeah. Yeah, they are." Ripcord said in a slow sentence as he looked back at her, a bit of depression showing in his eyes.  
"You okay?" She asked as she placed one of her hands over one of his.  
"Just gonna be hard, going back after this week." He said after a heavy exhale.  
"I know..." She trailed off, dropping her eyes. After a brief moment, she seemed to perk up again. "But we still have seven days in Hawaii and I can't think of anyone who I'd rather spend them with."   
"I feel the same way." He responded as he reached over and ran one of his hands down her cheek, taking caution not to touch the butterfly stitch on her temple. He let his hand linger on the side of her face as he continued after a long moment. "I just worry at times." He stated in a worried tone. "Each time I pull that trigger out there I feel further away from who I was..." his voice trailed off for a moment before he reluctantly continued. "And the scary part is that it keeps getting easier."  
"I won't let you slip too far." She returned as she offered a brave smile and moved her hand towards her face, resting it on top of his hand. "I promise."  
"Thanks Courtney." Ripcord said with an uncertain smile.  
"I don't make promises I can't keep, Wally." She stated before changing her tone to a more light hearted one. "Besides, like I said, we have eight more days off, and I believe, Wallace Andrew Weems, you owe me a date."  
  
Ripcord let a huge grin creep across his face as he finally pulled to a stop off to the size of the squat metal hangar. He slowly opened the door of Stingray and stepped onto the tarmac as his eyes took in the sights of an environment almost as familiar as home. Icarus Skydiving. He saw several people milling about through the massive open doors of the hangar, which was partially taken up by a C-47. The C-47 was painted in the same olive drab color scheme common to World War II era Skytrains, with the notable except being the winged 'I' emblazoned on to the vertical tail stabilizer of the aircraft. The old airframe had its engines half-way dissembled, apparently it was due for an overhaul. Parked off to the opposite side of the hangar was another C-47 twin engine plane, this one painted in yellow with red stripes running the length of the airframe, the same winged 'I' clearly seen on the same spot of the aircraft. Ripcord gave himself a brief mental shake to bring himself back to reality before he crossed over to the passenger side of the bright red Corvette. He took another moment to grin at the sight of Covergirl anxiously sitting in the passenger seat, her eyes hidden by a bandana that had be used as a make-shift blindfold. He let out a small chuckle, hardly believing he'd actually managed to get her to keep the blindfold on from the drive between his house and the airport. He reached down and opened the fiberglass door, before reaching down and taking a hold on her hand. He carefully guided Covergirl out of the bucket seat and helped her steady herself to stand on the dry tarmac.   
"All of your dates start out like this?" She asked as a faint smile crossed her face.  
"Nope, just this one." He said in a playful voice as he slowly moved in behind her and removed the blindfold.  
"So you weren't kidding..." Her voice trailed off as the already faint smile completely disappeared. Her eyes took in the sights of the area around her for a long moment before she managed to muster another half smile. "You know there's something wrong about throwing yourself form a flying aircraft, right?"  
"Says who?" Ripcord retorted playfully as the grin on his face broadened.  
"I'm starting to wish you were the take-a-date-to-a-diner type." She said with a slight shake of her head. "At least it won't be twenty thousand feet."  
"Twenty eight thousand actually." The paratrooper stated flatly with another grin. "On such short notice the only flight I could work us in on was with a group of more serious skydivers."  
"Like back in England?" She said in a small voice as a look almost resembling terror crossed her face.  
"At least it'll be daylight and everything will be over once we touch down." He said as he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Before anything else could be said between the two, a flash of movement caught the corner of Ripcord's vision. He panned his gaze over to see the approaching form of a short, older man dressed in an unmarked military issue flight suit. "Chuck!" Ripcord called out as he saw the man's grizzled face and neatly trimmed gray moustache.   
"Wally!" The slightly overweight man said as the two paratroopers each slapped one of their hands together, putting the other's in a white knuckled grip. Strain started to show on each of their faces, almost turning to pain before their clamp on the other was broken and they each let out a laugh. "How the hell have ya been boy?" The older jumper asked with a large smile still dominate on his features.  
"Good, I've been good." Ripcord responded with a smile and a nod.  
"Whoa," Chuck said with a low whistle as he finally caught sight of Covergirl. "Your taste has improved I see."  
"Chuck, this is Courtney. Courtney, this is Chuck." The younger paratrooper said with a slight laugh as he shook his head. He watched Covergirl offer a nod and the same half hearted smiled during the introductions before he continued. "Chuck here is the guy who taught me how to jump. He's also the one who sparked my interest in the Army. Hell, I wouldn't be who I was toady if not for him."   
"Nah, I just offered you a little guidance." Chuck responded with a slow shake of his head. "You wouldn't be one of my best success stories if you didn't have the natural skill and down-right craziness that you do."   
"I can vouch for that." Covergirl added with her first full smile since they'd reached the airport.  
"What? The down-right craziness he has?" Chuck asked rhetorically before continuing with a laugh. "Hell little lady, everybody can vouch for that."  
"Okay Chuck, how much longer we got till the jump?" Ripcord asked through his laughter.  
"Well, as you know the C-47s can't go that high so we gotta wait on the C-123. It's inbound and due back shortly." Chuck let a wide grin cross his face before he continued. "You and her goin' tandem or should I break out some gear for her?"  
"Yeah, she'll need some gear." Ripcord responded, shaking his head at the comment.  
"Okay..." Chuck trailed off as he looked over Covergirl. "She looks about the same size as Jennifer and she's gonna be buried in paperwork all morning, so I'll round up her equipment. I'll have it sitting in the hangar in a few." Ripcord nodded as his mentor turned and headed back in the direction of the squat metal structure.   
"Check all seals on the suit, mask and goggles locked and tight, otherwise I'll freeze quick. Chute timed, grace period, call out when chute pops..." Covergirl trailed off with a heavy sigh.  
"Nope, not this time." Ripcord responded with a grin. "We're not in a hurry and you're not a first time jumper anymore. You're operating the chute by yourself this go round." He gave her another reassuring squeeze of her shoulder before he continued. "Welcome to the real world of freefall."  
"I didn't sign on as a jumper, Skyboy..." She trailed off with a shake of her head but with a smile on her face. As she glanced up she was him flash her a warm smile, causing her to offer a thumbs up. "I'll do fine." Ripcord only nodded at the comment, still wearing his warm smile.  
  
Ripcord took another look around the dull gray metal of the C-123's cargo cabin. In front of him were two columns of four people, all dressed in thick insulated jumpsuits of various colors. Only the sounds of the aircraft's prop driven engines and the noise of his slow deep breaths inside his oxygen mask were able to be heard. He slowly shifted his gaze off of his side, seeing a familiar figure dressed in a black jumpsuit with yellow lightning bolts streaking across the material, additionally a matching parachute and helmet were worn. It was Jennifer's gear. Ripcord smiled under his oxygen mask as the memories of the middle aged woman he'd learned to jump with came into his mind. However, the thoughts were shook free as he saw that the usual confident brown eyes behind the plastic of the goggles weren't there. In there place were an equally familiar set of blue eyes that darted around the cabin nervously. Ripcord broke from his position and stepped over to Covergirl, giving her gloved hand a reassuring squeeze to catch her attention. As the female soldier shifted her eyes to meet the paratrooper's, he offered a single wink to her. He saw her give one of her hand signs. He recognized it from before. What was it? Walk in the park. As the realization of the sign hit him Ripcord gave another nod of his head and gave Covergirl's hand another squeeze. Before he could do anything else, a rush of chill air assaulted the inside of the aircraft, causing Ripcord to look towards the back of the aircraft to see blue sky beyond the slowly lowering ramp. He began to hum 'Paint It Black' as he stepped back to his position in the opposite line. He took up his position and waited in the line, still calmly humming the tune as a klaxon sounded and the lights in the cabin burned green. In a well practiced, two by two sequence the multitude of jumpers ran off of the aircraft's loading ramp. As the last two in the group, Ripcord and Covergirl's turn finally came but unlike those before them while running towards the ramp the paratrooper suddenly shot his hand to her arm just before the two leapt from the ramp. As the feeling of freefall over took the duo, Ripcord immediately shifted himself into a good jumping position, followed shortly by Covergirl shifting into a mimicked position. As the two continued their descent the paratrooper slowly let go of Covergirl's arm and began to move his hands over her body, shifting her figure into the optimal freefall position. As soon as she seemed used to the standard fall position, he showed her how to slow down and speed up her fall. As they continued to fall he used hand motions to instruct her go the various positions, having her fine tune her movements through the air. After a time that seemed all too short for the soldier's tastes, he began to see parachutes appear below him. He quickly guided himself over to tap Covergirl on the shoulder before pointing to a handle on her harness. Almost immediately Covergirl pulled the cord and was jerked upwards with the unfolding chute. Inversely, Ripcord kept falling. He glanced quickly at the altimeter on his wrist ticked down before focusing on the other skydivers disappearing above him. Finally after fall just a little longer than the others, he grinned as the parachute lazily deployed while the ground still rushed swiftly up to meet him. Mere seconds before he hit the ground, the silk of the black parachute fully deployed and slowed his decent to safe levels. He landed perfectly on his feet without a sound, removing his goggles as he grinned to look up at the still falling chutes. He quickly rolled up his chute and stripped out of the thick olive drab jumpsuit before folding the equipment in a neat pile on the soft grass on the field. Dressed only in the military issue flight suit he'd worn under the jumpsuit, he plopped down on his equipment. After a cursory glance at the edge of the field to reveal an approaching truck, he focused his eyes skyward, wearing a grin as the first of the other skydivers started to touch the ground. "Amateurs." He muttered under his breath as the others went about collecting their gear. With a finally small chuckle, he focused his eyes on the from of Covergirl approaching his position.  
"So that's what a first date with Superman is like?" She asked with a smirk.   
"Well I'd offer you a romantic dinner too but we just don't have the time." Ripcord playfully retorted.  
"It couldn't top this, anyway." She said with a single, satisfied nod. "But you're right. Long drive we should get going."   
"Yeah." Ripcord stated as he began to gather his gear up. "And you're half way there by the way." He stated cryptically  
"Half way?" She asked in a dumbfounded voice.  
"Two more jumps and you'll be airborne." He responded with a wink.  



	6. Chapter Six

They'd left directly from the airstrip, Ripcord taking the time to thank and say goodbye to Chuck. He crossed to the passenger side to open the door for her, she smiled as she pushed it shut, instead putting her hands on the T-top frame and hopping the fiberglass panel. Sliding into the bucket seat, she flipped her black sunglasses from the top of her head down, turning to glance at him.   
  
"Half way?" She asked, tapping her forehead. "Where did all the brain cells go?" Her actions prompted a laugh from him as he crossed back to his side, entering the same way.  
  
He'd slowed the car to almost a rolling stop, revving the engine heavily. She immediately shot forward, looking left and right, to see what kind of vehicle was challenging them this time, but there were none around. She raised her sunglasses and shot him a curious glance as he once again took the engine to redline. A mischievous grin swept across his face as he nodded forwards. Further inspection from her showed the on-ramp to I-70. The same devilish grin over took her as well as she hopped up on the front seat, as he dropped the car thorough all 5 gears, hitting the ramp at near 80.   
  
They drove straight through this time, no detours, the trip taking a short six hours, with Ripcord's "bat out of hell" style driving fueled by the mid-day skydive adrenaline rush. She thought back to the tattoo she'd seen on his shoulder, first back in the Brazil jungle, then again back when she'd near walked in on him after his shower, a bat emerging from some flames, and smiled. Suited him well. She'd spent most of the ride resting against him, placing her hand atop his when he'd have to shift gears, cradled in his arm when he didn't. Their mood turned more melancholy as the two soldiers came upon the more familiar sights of "home."   
  
He brazenly smoked the tires as he passed his pseudo-nemisis, the attendant at the parking garage, bringing the car safely once again to it's spot on the third tier. The echoing growl ended as he turned the key to the off position. The entire car seemed to relax as the engine ceased, including the two occupants inside. She didn't want to move, didn't want her time with him to end. They'd have to stop being Courtney and Wally, go back to being Specialists Krieger and Weems especially in front of everyone else. "Wally, I...." She began uncertainly. He placed his index finger gently to her lips causing her to stop mid-sentence as she nervously scanned his reassuring green eyes. His intensity brought a wave of warmth and security that flooded over her as he traced her facial features. His free hand came to a rest on the back of her neck beneath her hair as he leaned in closer and drew her to him; the touch of his parted lips sending an electrical charge through her more intense than she'd ever felt. "You were saying?" He whispered softly as they slowly parted. "I don't remember." She whispered honestly, causing him to chuckle slightly, brushing his lips against her forehead before drawing back. "Good." He said, reassuredly, offering a small smile. They stared at each other for another brief moment before he exited the vehicle "true superman" style, one hand on either side of the frame, hopping over the door rather than through it.  
  
She'd helped him replace the fiberglass T-Tops before he walked her to the dorms, where they'd said good night. His kiss this time more reserved, more of a quick peck on the cheek. Though it was still relatively early, both still needed to pack a week's worth of gear... causing her to smile. Twelve hours to pack. A blessing in disguise.   
  
They met up the next morning, him swinging by her dorm room at 0700. "Hey Covergirl, you ready?" Ripcord spoke loudly enough for his voice to carry through the wooden door. " She smiled at the familiarity. "One sec." She replied from behind the door. She took a final second to give herself a once over in the mirror. Like her jeans, the neatly pressed short white straight cut denim skirt and matching short sleeved shirt were a bit bigger on her than she'd have liked, still a left-over from the slight drop in weight after the jungle. Another blessing in disguise. From what she'd remembered, Hawaiian cuisine looked absolutely delicious, would be nice to actually eat it for a change. He'd helped bring down her two bags, and she smiled to see that he still packed in the same beat-up ruck he'd taken for the weekend trip to visit his family. They met up with the team by the motor pool, as was planned, her melancholy mood immediately washed away by the team's near exuberance.  
  
"Rogue Force!" Fast Draw shouted, handing out high fives, his post-mission/post pass high still fired up. Repeater even almost cracked a smile as Fast Draw jumped on his back, piggy-back style, singing his own off-key hula-song, finishing with a Ha-wa-ii chant.   
  
"Seven days in paradise!" Zap added. She smiled, and shook her head to clear it from negative thoughts. They still had seven days, seven days before any of this became real again. Seven days before they'd get the call and stand before Hawk to find out where they'd be going next, what their assignment would be. She let a small smile creep over her face, thinking of the word "they." The Rogue Force", her team. They'd only been out together twice, three times if she counted when it was just her and Ripcord. The sense of belonging was comforting. Her team. They'd worked well together, they'd worked hard, and they'd earned the break.   
  
"I'm taking surf lessons, amigo!" Zap continued, patting Ripcord on the back. "Are you in?"  
  
"This arm in salt water?" He said in disbelief. "I hope you're kidding."  
  
"That's... That's right." Fast Draw said, dejectedly, his hand shooting to his wound, but quickly shrugged it off. "Oh well, at least this should work well as a pick up line!" He quipped.  
  
"Where are we staying?" Zap.... Melendez... asked. She wouldn't make the same mistake again. Melendez, Provost, Brown, Guderian, Therien, and of course... she let her eyes soften, falling on him. Weems. First names she was still getting used to.  
  
"Who cares?" From Fast Draw. "As long as there's sun, sand and babes in bikinis." She rolled her eyes.  
  
"Happily married man, amigo." Zap said proudly twirling his wedding band on his ring finger.   
  
"More for me." he shot back.   
  
"You'll need the odds, son..." the sergeant quipped, causing laughter from the rest of the team. "Says here we'll be staying at The SunSpree..." Hotseat read from their itinerary. She half choked/half laughed on the soda she'd picked up on the way down.  
  
"Thank you Uncle Sam!" She said, shaking her head. "SunSpree. Fancy name... it's the Holiday Inn.... The Super 8 of the Islands." Her agent had coined the term for the large Holiday Inn resort, and the name kind of stuck with her.   
  
"Still be nice to stay somewhere tropical inside this time, Chica." Zap said with a quick nod.   
  
"Amen to that." From Heavy Metal. She shot him a quick look of contempt before averting her eyes.  
  
She recognized the soldier transporting them as Sgt. Shannahan, a tanker, even with his civilian clothes on. The blue government issue van dropped them at the Richmond International Airport, where they'd catch the first leg of their long flight. Richmond to St. Louis, change over airlines, St. Louis to Los Angeles, change flights, then on to Kauai.   
  
She saw him staring out of the small window at the clouds below, an almost peaceful look on his face as the 737 traveled onwards towards Los Angeles. She shook her head slowly. "Not on your life, Skyboy." She kidded. "Twenty Eight thousand feet, that was one thing."  
  
He gave her a no-big-deal shrug and smile, adding a quick: "I've done it before." She smiled, settling back in her seat, not doubting it.  
  
She managed to sleep through most of the flights, wishing she could once again settle into the safety and warmth of Ripcord's strong arms, but knowing that they'd have to be more cautious in front of the team.   
  
After what seemed an eternity of flying coach, the large commercial jet touched down at Kauai's main airport, the entire team again coming alive to stare out the windows at the scenic islands and blue ocean below. As was tradition, two beautiful women clad in native Hawaiian garb placed a lei around the neck of each passenger as they exited the aircraft. "All right!" Fast Draw commented as they walked up the rampway to the main terminal. "Not even here for five minutes, and I've already been 'leid.' " It was possible, she thought to herself. He did get more obnoxious by the minute.  
  
A shuttle had been arranged to take them to the SunSpree, Hotseat informing them they'd be doubling up in rooms. Fast Draw to slid an arm around her shoulder. "Looks like it's you and me Babe." He said with a wink. She picked his hand up unwrapping it from around her and dropping it back in his lap. "In your dreams, Hotshot." She told him, getting a quick: "It will be now." In response.   
  
It wasn't spoken, but she knew the room divisions. Ripcord and Zap. Heavy Metal and Fast Draw. Repeater and Hotseat, she'd get her own. No need for discussion.  
  
Ripcord walked her to her room before heading down the hallway to the room he and Zap were to share, telling her he'd see her again when they all met downstairs for dinner.   
  
The topic of choice was how the forty eight hour passes were spent as they waited for the first round of after dinner drinks to come. Zap, of course had returned home, bringing back new pictures of the wife and family, his face lighting up as he told of stories of his kids antics, most of which sparking laughter from the team. Heavy Metal had gone back to see his girl, fianc‚e he actually called her. Fast Draw kept his answers curt, simply stating he'd went to see his parents, before letting his eyes wander over towards the bar area. Hotseat and Repeater had both remained on base, Hotseat describing how he'd gone exploring the local area, finding a hole-in-the-wall bar about 30 miles out. "Not a lot to look at," he'd said, "But they did have a few pool tables and decent enough food." She'd seen Ripcord perk up slightly at the mention of the pool tables, a confident smile crossing his face. "What about you two..." Hotseat continued. "When, of course, you weren't tearing up the base in some suped-up hotrod...." He nodded, then half-kiddingly continued. "That's right, your sergeant received a complaint call from a parking lot attendant." She shielded her face with her hand, giggling slightly at the memory, the attendant shouting "This is not a speedway!" She shot a sideways glance toward's Ripcord, who simply shrugged and stated they'd taken a road trip, stopping off at his mom's place in Columbus, it being cheaper than a hotel. She thought she'd seen Hotseat's still bruised face grow a bit darker, his eyebrows raised slightly as Ripcord spoke. The look was dismissed as the round of beers were finally brought to the table, prompting Hotseat to make a toast. He held up his mug and the rest followed. "To..." He began, but stopped. To what? They couldn't toast to success, though they'd had it, it wouldn't be official for another 20 years. The team looked to each other for a brief second, before Hotseat continued.  
  
"To the seven of us." He concluded.   
  
"Eight." From Heavy Metal. Up until that point he'd been near silent. "You can't forget Murphy... Murphy's law?" Fast Draw was the first to laugh.  
  
"Damn, was that a joke Guderian?" He asked, prompting a smile in response from Heavy Metal.  
  
"To the eight of us." Hotseat corrected. "Rogue force." The others raised their glasses in like and drank.   
  
"And..." Fast Draw added, making a toast of his own as a woman in a short floral skirt and bikini top walked by. "To being a rogue in general....Who's with me?" He looked around the table. Zap once again held up his wedding banded hand, Heavy Metal holding up a hand as well. Hotseat added a trademark "too old" comment, while Repeater simply offered his stoic glance, causing Fast Draw to sigh. "Well, Weems, looks like it's you and me. Up for a boys night out?" She dropped her eyes quickly to the table, not wanting to show the hint of jealousy which crept into them.   
  
"No thanks." He simply replied, shooting a quick look towards Covergirl. "My ribs are still killing me." She raised her eyes to him giving a worried glance before realizing he was simply avoiding the night out with Fast Draw, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth.  
  
"No sense of adventure, Skyboy. I have a bullet hole, not going to slow me down." He tried. Ripcord still smiled, and slowly shook his head. "I'd ask you, Babe, but you don't qualify. However, if you want to spend a boys night in..." He thumped his chest. "Elliot's in room 119. For now..." He spied another good looking woman in a floral skirt as he twirled the Hawaiian flowered necklace. "Time to get ..."  
  
"Don't even..." she interrupted, shaking her head. He tossed her a wink.  
  
"Jealous, Babe?" He asked with an obnoxious smirk.   
  
"You know what your problem is..."She started, but stopped when she felt Wally give a reassuring pat to her knee beneath the table.  
  
"Yeah, I told you I did. Just not enough of Elliot Brown to go around." He quick tousseled her hair before heading out to the bar.   
  
Once Fast Draw left, the others followed suit, Hotseat, Repeater and Heavy Metal being the first to leave. Zap and Ripcord finished what remained in the pitcher of beer before the three ascended the stairs to the second floor. He'd told Zap that he'd be to their room momentarily. She'd heard him chuckle in response, adding a whispered "No you won't amigo," causing a quick blush to cross her face as she quickly looked away.   
  
She awoke early the next morning, enjoying a brief run on the sand, before returning to the room where Wally still lay sleeping. She tried not to wake him as she grabbed her change of clothes, sliding into the bathroom, smiling as she took the time to lock the door behind her. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Ripcord's eyes wandered out of the open window and into the beautiful Hawaii morning. Not even the buildings of the cityscape seemed to take away from the natural sights. The blue sky, with the occasional patchy cloud. The lush green mountains in the distance. The warm tropical air that was surprisingly devoid of humidity. He was so preoccupied with the scenery that he barely noticed the sound of a door opening somewhere behind him. After a long moment the silence of the hotel room subsided as a voice called from just beside him.  
"Lucked out with the view, huh?" The voice was Covergirl's. It couldn't have been anything better that had interrupted his moment of silent serenity.  
"Sure did." He responded simply with a slow nod of his head. After taking a last moment to soak in the view he turned towards her, a warm smile playing over his face. He took a moment to look over her, standing in only a white robe, her damp strawberry blonde hair cascading off of her shoulders. He let his smile grow a little wider, she could look great in anything. After letting his gaze linger on her for a moment longer, he spoke up. "We'd better get going, we don't want to waste an opportunity."  
"An opportunity?" She asked, her bright blue eyes staring a curious glance back at his.  
"Yeah, we're on an island that's supposed to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world." He said as he gently placed his hands on her hips.  
"It does." She nodded back, throwing her arms over his shoulders and around his neck. "Has some great hiking too, if you're up for it. Waterfalls, volcanoes..." She trailed off, stepping even closer to him before continuing in a soft voice. "And you know what the best part is?" Without responding he immediately leaned his face closer to hers, causing their parted lips to meet, lasting for a long moment before he slowly leaned his face away.  
"It'll be just us." He said, his voice barely audible.   
"It'll be just us." She repeated in an equally whispered voice, as she offered a slow nod.  
  
A dull ping sounded as the metal doors of the elevator slid back, revealing the lobby of the hotel. Ripcord and Covergirl both turned their heads towards the other, flashing a shared smile as they stepped clear of the elevator. Almost immediately their looks of joy changed to visages of frustration.   
"Hey! Where you guys off to?" Came a shouted greeting as Fastdraw approached the two, wearing a gaudy flowered shirt with three multicolored leis dangling from his neck. The comment immediately caused Covergirl to let out a heavy sigh before casting her eyes skyward.  
"To the beach." Ripcord stated flatly in a grumbled tone while looking at the younger soldier through narrowed eyes.  
"Oh good." Fast Draw said, stopping to wave hello to young brunette in a bikini top and a pair of shorts that walked by. As soon as the girl had passed Fast Draw looked back to his two teammates "It'll get us out of the hotel for a while. If they look that good here I'll bet they're mind boggling on the beach."  
"Us?" Covergirl asked in a contemptuous voice as she swung her own set of narrowed eyes at Fast Draw.   
"Yeah." Fast Draw stated with a grin on his face. "The three of us." The soldier then shot a wink at her before continuing. "Of course we can dump Skyboy and his fragile arm off at the lifeguard shack so me and you can get some quality time in." The comment immediately caused Ripcord to grit his teeth and clench his fists into white knuckled balls.   
"Obnoxious..." Covergirl trailed off, catching sight of Ripcord's bottled anger and shooting a quick worried glance at the paratrooper. Just as quickly she dropped her gaze to the floor and shook her head. "Just drop it, Hotshot." Anything that was be said next was cut off as Zap and Heavy Metal emerged from the restaurant in the hotel and approached the trio.   
"Good morning amigos, what's up?" Zap asked as he tossed a mango up and down that he'd carried off from his breakfast.  
"We're headed to the beach." Fast Draw stated matter-of-factly with a shrug. "You guys wanna tag along too?"  
"Sure." Zap said with a nod in a cheery voice. "Might be the last chance to be on a beach without assaulting it." Despite the light-hearted intent of the comment, Heavy Metal visibly paled somewhat at the reference to combat.  
"Cool." Fast Draw responded, ignoring the worries of the former finance geek. "Wanna find Dad and the Statue too? Turn this into a real Rogue outing?" Fast Draw asked as his threw his arms over the shoulders of Ripcord and Zap. Fast Draw's comment immediately caused Ripcord and Covergirl to exchange a pained glance. So much for their plans.  
  
Ripcord stared calmly out into the horizon, his eyes focused on the point where the sky melted into the sea. Despite the sun beating down on his bare arms and legs, combined with the sound of the people on the beach, it was still relaxing. The cool Pacific breeze. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore. The water rushing over his legs where he was seated just inside the tide's lines. All of it served to relax him. To keep his mind off of what he'd done and what he would most likely have to do in the future. His mind broke from his wandering for a moment to take stock of his team. He'd noticed it'd become habit that had developed at some point after the Brazil mission. After a quick moment of searching he'd found the partially submerged form of Heavy Metal then Zap further out in the water. Zap seemed to be swimming around in wide laps while Heavy Metal just was wading around in the surf. His gaze then shifted on shore, to Repeater leaned back on a chair in the shadow of a life guard shack, peering out from under sunglasses and an olive drab 'boonie' hat, apparently watching the various people on the sandy beach. A little further away was Hotseat, sitting in a similar chair, thumbing through a copy of 'Time' that had Hector Ramirez on the cover. Off near the paratrooper's own things was the prone form of Covergirl, laying down in a blue floral printed bikini, taking the opportunity to sun bathe. Then of course there was Fast Draw, in the middle of a very animated conversation with a young islander girl, proudly displaying his bare chest with his ID tags dangling from his neck and the bandages that wrapped around his damaged shoulder. Ripcord had to grin as football came out of nowhere and connected with the gut of the younger soldier. As soon as Fast Draw had realized what happened, he began to look around almost furiously at the beach around him, searching for the thrower. Within seconds a sizable man in a gray t-shirt that had 'NAVY' printed in black across the chest jogged up to Fast Draw. The sailor motioned for the football back. As usual Fast Draw didn't want to cooperate. He saw his teammate start to have a heated exchange with the sailor. "Shit." Ripcord grumbled out in a disappointed voice as he shook his head. Fast Draw may not have been the top person on a list of Ripcord's friends but the younger soldier was still his responsibility. Ripcord slowly rose to his feet, taking a moment to attempt to shake some of the wet sand from his gray board shorts and the tail of his sleeveless airborne t-shirt as made his way over to the near dueling servicemen. As the paratrooper neared the two the corner of his eyes caught sight of the big machine gunner also making his way towards the dispute, with Hotseat dropping the magazine into his lap to watch the potentially dangerous situation. "What seems to be the problem here?" Ripcord said, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.  
"Your friend here is bein' a dick, grunt." The sailor said, spitting out the word 'grunt' like as if it was physically difficult to say.  
"First off, he's not my friend." Ripcord stated flatly. "But if anyone's gonna kick his ass it's gonna be me."   
"What? So you and Frankenstein there are gonna take me?" The sailor said with a grin. "I hope you know I got six other guys here with me."  
"No." Ripcord responded simply. "I doubt any of us are looking forward to spending a night in lock-up." Before anyone else could speak up, a thought came into the paratrooper's head, causing him to continue. "I've got a better idea on how to settle this. You and your buddies like football, huh? How's about a little seven on seven?"  
"You're on grunt." The sailor forcefully spat out as he jabbed a finger in Ripcord's direction.  
  
Fourteen to Seven. Up by seven. The sailors were pretty much on the goal line. Them scoring wouldn't win the game, just tie it up. Ripcord wouldn't allow them to tie with his team.   
"Hut!" Came the barked call from the sailors' quarterback. The six people that compromised the respective lines rushed forward, clashing on the line of scrimmage. Heavy Metal and Covergirl immediately flared out, following the opposing receivers. He watched as Zap rushed into the central melee, attempting to get to the quarterback. Ripcord kept his eyes on the ball at all costs. The quarterback dropped back, searching for a receiver. The man's arm shot forward in an arc similar to a throw. But the ball didn't leave his hand. The former high school linebacker watched the quarterback spin, handing the ball to the fullback. The large sailor immediately shot towards the hole open hole between Repeater and Hotseat. A grim smile crossed Ripcord's lips. Right where he wanted him. The paratrooper rushed forward, watching as the fullback leapt upwards in an attempt to clear the chaos of the line. Ripcord quickly threw his good arm up. The clothesline like move caught the sailor in the gut midair. Ripcord quickly shifted his weight into the blow, throwing the man back behind the line of scrimmage. The small crowd that their game had drawn let out a loud, collective cringe as Ripcord watched the sailor fall onto his back. As the man's body sent up a thin cloud of sand the paratrooper noticed that he didn't have the ball in his hands.  
"Fumble!" Ripcord shouted as he quickly spun to search the ground for the ball. He immediately caught sight of Zap, clutching the ball to his chest. The Hispanic soldier shot out in a wide hook to avoid the line before he turned up field, causing the players to stop mid-stride, reversing their directions to pursue ball-carrier. Ripcord tried to stay hot the heels of his friend as the they kicked up sand in their wake. One of the smaller sailors shot ahead of Ripcord, but the runner didn't move fast enough. Ripcord quickly leapt forward, his body tackle catching the smaller man full in the back. The two violently tumbled to the ground below. Ripcord quickly used his momentum to roll to his feet, flinging even more sand into the air as he went, taking off as soon as he was upright. Despite the few heartbeats length of the maneuver, it wasn't fast enough. Two more sailors had appeared between him and the ball, one of which was dangerously close to Zap. He wasn't going to make it. However Ripcord saw his team's saving gracing in the form of Covergirl about three meters off to Zap's right. "Lateral!" Ripcord shouted. Immediately Zap haphazardly tossed the ball to his right, a heartbeat before he was taken to the ground but one of the sailors. The ball made a lazy flight through the air before being hauled in by Covergirl. Damn. The second sailor was right behind the female tanker. He saw the man hesitate, almost unsure of how to tackle the woman. However any doubts were swept away after she raked one of her arms back in a stiff-arm, catching the sailor full in the neck. The man collapsed to the ground hacking as Covergirl sprinted the remaining distance to the end zone. As she crossed over the line that was shallowly dug in the sand a cheer erupted from the spectators.  
"Yeah!" She cried as she forcefully spiked the ball into the sand.   
"Oh, I'm sorry." Fast Draw called out as he lifted a foot up and stared quizzically at the sand under it. "Was that your pride?"  
"Told you winning was overrated!" Covergirl called out as she jubilantly high fived Ripcord as he joined her in the end zone. "Crushing is the fun part!" She finished, raising laughter from the paratrooper.   
"This is bullshit!" One of the sailors cried out, raising a wave of nods from his teammates. "You grunts aren't playing fair!"  
"Accept it son," Hotseat started, taking a moment a to catch his breath before a disgusted look washed over his face. "You suck." The older tanker's comment caused the soldiers to look at each other in surprise just before they exploded in a fit of laughter.   
"Screw you guys! We're outta here." The same sailor yelled out in frustration.  
"If you insist." Fast Draw said with a melodramatic show of disappointment. "Oh, don't forgot to pick up your balls, er, ball from Courtney before you leave." The comment immediately caused Covergirl to grin sheepishly, holding out the football by it's tip with one hand and twirling her hair with the other. The very un-Covergirl-like act sent the team into another fit of laughter.   
"Better luck next time boys." Covergirl said in an airheady voice as one of the sailors forcefully grabbed the ball from her hand. The sailors then continued to either sulk or storm off of the field, with one of the more calm ones coming to a stop near Covergirl.  
"You played great out there." He praised with a smile playing across his boyish face. "Could I maybe buy you dinner sometime?"  
"Sure." Covergirl responded, bring a brightness to the young sailor's face. "When Satan calls to tell me Hell's frozen over." With that said, the sailor's looked darkened before he turned and continued to sulk off of the 'field'. With the game over the small crowd of spectators dispersed while the team came together.   
"Nice work people." Hotseat said with a nod.  
"Nice work? We kicked their ass!" Fast Draw quipped. The group continued to buzz with jubilance until an athletic looking middle aged brunette took a few steps towards the group, a pair of big brown eyes staring shakily at Repeater.  
"J...Jeff?" The woman hesitantly called out. "It's me...Diana." The big Ranger instantly turned paler than any of the others had ever seen him, his body shaking. The team quizzically shot glances between the two, shocked at how bad an unassuming woman had shaken Repeater. Without warning, the big machine gunner turned and stalked off, his troubles still easily seen on his worry-ridden face. "Jeff, I'm sorry I didn't..." The woman trailed off, holding an arm up as if to stop the veteran soldier.   
"How do you know Jeff?" Covergirl asked in a cold tone as she stared at the woman through narrowed eyes.  
"I...I knew him from China Beach." Diana spoke in a shaky voice.   
"Holy shit." Fast Draw stated in disbelief. "You knew the Big Man in 'Nam?" He asked, getting a nod from Diana in return.   
"Whoa." Was the biggest sentence Zap was able to muster.  
"Well he obviously he doesn't want anything to do with you." Covergirl said as she crossed her arms.  
"I've noticed." Diana responded in a defeated tone. "He's been that way ever since he'd come back from his last tour." Covergirl didn't seem to care to hear and opened her mouth to say something but was stopped as Ripcord held up a hand to stall her comment.  
"What do you mean? What happened on his last tour?" Ripcord asked Diana with a confused look on his face. Diana let out a heavy sigh before she reluctantly pressed on through a story she obviously didn't want to have to tell.  
"In Jeff's first tour he'd lost several friends, at the end of the tour he'd decided that maybe if he stayed in country he could save some poor kid from dying. But then it happened again....and again. Then about halfway through his fourth tour his squad had been sent out to recon the perimeter of the firebase. They were ambushed, and when the smoke cleared he was the only one left alive. He'd suffered a hit to one of his kidneys and was med-evaced. His body recovered but he didn't. The shrinks said it'd pushed him over the edge with grief. He'd even forgotten he'd been hit." As she finished her short recount of Repeater's past, she brought a hand up to catch a single tear that started to slide down the side of her face. For long moment the team stood in silence, not even the sounds of other people enjoying the beach seemed to break their shock and horror at the events that made up their teammate's past. When the almost whispered voice of Covergirl sounded out it almost sounded thunderous.  
"The nightmares..." The female tanker trailed off as she stared at the point where Repeater had stalked off. "So that's why he's so..."   
"Yeah." Diana responded in a quiet voice, casting her eyes down at the sand before closing them tightly. "One day he actually worked up the courage to send me a letter. He said that he didn't want me to be around him. He said everyone he'd ever gotten close to had died and that he cared about me too much to risk getting close."  
"Then maybe you should just leave him alone." Covergirl spoke, her tone far less harsh with the woman than it'd been earlier.   
"I...I can't." She responded sheepishly as she shook her hung head.  
"Look," Cover started, proceeding in a careful voice. "I'm trying to be nice about this. If he wants to see you he will. Obviously he's been through enough, without something or someone reminding him."   
"Jus...Just let him know I'm here if he wants to talk. He can find me in the directory for Fort Shafter." Diana stated as she slowly raised her head, wiping away another tear before she nodded a silent goodbye to the group and walked swiftly away. The departure of the woman left the group silent until Covergirl spoke up, turning her now less defensive eyes towards her team.  
"I knew it had to be something with Vietnam..." She trailed off before she slowly shook her head. "I just didn't know it was that bad."  
"That was awful." Ripcord seconded with a nod.  
"Amen." Zap stated in a reverent tone.  
"Poor guy." Covergirl said with another shake of her head before swinging her eyes to Ripcord, searching his eyes for something. Her eyes looked pleading, as if she needed reassurance. The paratrooper didn't have any to offer.  
  
The two soldiers collapsed on to the double bed as soon as they had entered the hotel room. After a moment of staring up at the white ceiling, Ripcord looked over to the figure of Covergirl beside him. She rubbed the back of one of her hands over her eyes, letting out a yawn before she leaned her head on his shoulder.  
"Long day." She muttered lazily.  
"Longer night." He responded as his placed a quick kiss on her forehead before giving a sigh of his own. The comment sparked a quizzical look from Covergirl, which in turn gave rise to a small laugh from him. "Roasted pig. Fire dancers. Hula girls. Poi. Any of this ringing a bell?"  
"The Luau." Covergirl said with a defeated sigh as she let her head fall back on the bedcovers. "I don't know Wally..." She trailed off, putting a slightly whiney tone in her voice. The voice raised a small chuckle from Ripcord as he rolled over, staying on his hands and knees as he straddled Covergirl. He leaned his head down towards her face, their lips meeting in a loving kiss that allow them to forget everything for that long moment.  
"Trust me, I'd much rather prefer to stay here for the other five days." Ripcord said just after their lips had broken apart. "But Hotseat wouldn't stand for it."   
"I know." Covergirl sighed out before shooting a worried glance up into his eyes. "Has he said anything to you?"  
"No, but he's not naive. None of them are. Chances are they just think that we're professional enough to keep our heads clear when it counts." He stated matter of factly.   
"I hope so." She responded in a whispered voice as she moved a hand up and began to run it through his close-cropped red hair. The two just shared the calm moment of just having the other near before Covergirl's eyes flashed a pain of some sort. "I can't stop thinking about Thieran."   
"Yeah." He responded with a nod before a chill went down his spine, causing him to push away from her, and move to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. "Neither can I. I mean it explains a lot but that ain't no way to have to live." Almost as soon as he'd moved, she pulled herself onto her knees, moving in behind him and hugging her arms around his neck and shoulders.  
"No, it's not. I just wish there was something we could do or say." She said in a concerned tone.  
"I know." Ripcord stated before continuing with a shrug. "I do too but we'd have to find him first."  
"A near seven foot skulking man on a Hawaiian Island?" She responded with a slight laugh. "I'm thinking a Don Ho concert." She joked, raising a small laugh from the paratrooper.  
"Yeah, but I'm not worried. He can take care of himself. Chances are he just wants to be alone right now." Ripcord said with a slight shrug.  
"Probably." Covergirl said with a nod just before another peaceful silence fell between the two. After a long moment had passed, she leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "Thanks for stay with me, I didn't want to be alone." She spoke softly before smiling as she continued. "I'd forgotten about the Luau."   
"You're welcome." Ripcord whispered back as he gave one of her forearms a reassuring squeeze while he turned his head, planting a peck on her cheek. "Besides," He started with a smile. "I kinda had to stay. Zap just isn't as attractive."


	8. Chapter Eight

It was one of those perfect, sweet dreams that came too infrequently. The sound of the ocean rushing to the shore. The gentle surf kissing your feet, tickling as it runs up a bare leg. The occasional call of a gull. The warm breeze brushing against bare skin. The feel of coarse sand giving way beneath your body. The agonizing pain in your head… She opened her eyes immediately regretting it as the early morning sun bore holes through her, causing her to reclose them quickly and let out a low groan. What the hell happened?   
  
Six bodies laid strewn about the beach, some prone, some dorsal, one in the fetal position.. The thumping in her head became more prominent, causing her to continue lying face down with her head turned in the warm sand.   
  
"Sound off people…" A lazy voice half-heartedly called from the prone figure of Hotseat, a bit higher up on the beach.   
"Melendez" Zap said softly through gritted teeth.  
"Brown." Fast Draw answered, adding a low moan.   
Heavy Metal took a couple of deep breaths before adding a quick "Guderian"  
"Krieger." She mumbled.  
"Mmmmm" from Ripcord. She opened her eyes cautiously to check on him. He was a little further into the surf than her, face down and bare-chested, clutching his t-shirt as the waves cascaded over his waist. She noticed he protectively had his bad arm outstretched, keeping it further away from the tide.  
  
"I'm getting way too old for shit like this." The old tanker groaned, causing her to chuckle slightly. "Somebody get me a Goddamn wheelchair." More restrained laughter could be heard from the five other soldiers lying hung over on the shore.   
  
Zap was the first to be brave enough to sit up, holding a heavy head in his hands. "Does anyone remember….. anything?" He asked. She went to shake her head no, once again letting out a low groan, deciding it was better to just lie there motionless.  
"Little bit." Heavy Metal replied. She rubbed a hand across the back of her skull. He should. She couldn't remember him doing shots of… what were they doing shots of? She barely remembered tequila, Fast Draw, Ripcord and Zap showing her how to first pour salt on her inner wrist, lick it off, down the shot, then suck on a lemon wedge… Lick it, slam it, suck it, they'd said. Then there was the Blue Hawaii shots, and something about a margarita pool… after that was blank.  
  
"Didn't I have a shirt?" She questioned, sitting up and staring down at the bra top of her bikini. She'd remembered wearing a sleeveless tie above the waist button down that matched her short floral skirt. Without any other motion, Ripcord's arm shot up, offering the familiar black 82nd airborne shirt she'd grown accustomed to. Fast Draw also shot up to a sitting position, prompting a "Don't give yourself whiplash, Hotshot" comment from her as she pulled the cotton Tee over her head. "What happened to your shoulder?" She questioned, as Ripcord retuned his arm to it's place of rest on the beach. For the first time he raised his sleepy head, eyeing the large white bandage covering his shoulder. Cautiously he pulled the dressing back, revealing a fresh tattoo, two playing cards, one in front of the other. A king of hearts peering out from behind the Ace of Spades.  
  
"Huh.." He said, nonchalantly returning his head to the sand and again closing his eyes. "Just like last time."  
"Dio Mios…" Zap cried, his voice sharp enough to feel like a knife in the skulls of the other hung over soldiers. "My wedding band!"   
"Check your pockets." She mumbled. "Married guys always put their bands in their pockets or wallets when they go tramping." Sure enough that's where he'd found it. The Hispanic soldier visibly paled.   
"You took it off to ride the mechanical bull." Heavy Metal reminded him.   
"There was a bull?" Three soldiers questioned simultaneously. Heavy Metal nodded.   
"Yeah." He said matter of fact. "The same bar that had the karaoke machine. You know. The one we hit right after the hula contest?" She covered her face with her hands. That could not have been good. "Don't worry." He told her. "You took second." She held her head a little tighter, this time letting out more of an embarrassed groan and sigh.   
"I can't believe I lost."   
  
"C'mon people…" Hotseat said, finally getting up himself. "If we're lucky, this won't come back to bite us too hard in the ass. No need to keep littering the beach." The older tanker started walking off, only to be called back by Heavy Metal.   
"Other way, Sarge!" He called, making CG slightly chuckle once again.  
"Right." He said, his pride slightly wounded. "I mean it, go clean up people. No need to make Uncle Sam look bad.. well, worse. Weems, let's move it, son." Still lying prone on the beach, he lethargically raised one arm, pointing forward and used an authoritative command voice to bark out his response.   
"You heard Top people! Saddle up and get the hell off his beach!" Covergirl fell into another subdued giggling fit, the comment bringing a laugh even from Fast Draw. Only Hotseat found it humorless.   
"I'm not jerking your chain, kid. Get your ass off this beach. All of you." She stopped giggling when she heard the sharpness in his voice, chalking it up to the hangover. Ripcord sighed, and picked himself off the sand, running a sleepy hand through his hair. Sand clung to the front of his jam shorts and bare chest, making the bruises near impossible to see. She had to smile. Even hung over, his strong build, his confident walk was evident.  
  
"Hey Courtney, You ready?" He called through the thick wooden door. "One sec!" She replied, running one more splash of cold water over her face. He'd left her to go to his and Zap's room, catch more of a nap and a shower before spending the afternoon together doing some sight seeing. She opened the door and smiled. He was in a fresh pair of grey board shorts with a light blue and grey paisley patterned Hawaiian shirt that he'd bought when they first arrived. It fit him well, not just physically, the subdued colors in sharp contrast with his red hair. She gave him a quick once over, a smile crossing her face at the sight of the young paratrooper. She'd chosen simply to wear a pair of cut off jean shorts and white tank, her strawberry blonde hair pulled back by her wire framed sunglasses.   
"Shirt looks great." She told him, flattening the collar where it had slightly upturned. He shrugged his broad shoulders.  
"Figured I might as well use while I can." He said with a small laugh. "Not like I'd wear it anywhere else."  
"You could pull it off." She said with a reassuring smile. "All we have to do now is make it through the lobby undetected, and we're good to go." His eyes turned boyish as an "I-have-a-plan" smile crept over his face. She groaned slightly.  
"Last time I saw a look like that, it ended with me falling 28,000 feet." She said cautiously "And with the hangover I have going, I don't think I'd survive, Wally." He smiled as he walked over to the small balcony of the room, sliding the door open as he stepped out.  
"I'll help you down." He said, with his same devil-may-care grin. She smiled. At least it wasn't 28,000 feet.  
He held her wrists as she slid over the balcony railing, stretching to find the railing below with her feet. She kicked for a second or two, wishing she had a few more inches and height, and feeling like if she'd stretched much longer, she would gain those inches! Finally her feet touched the ledge as he'd leaned a bit further to lower her down. She quickly swung herself to the lower balcony before he'd hurt his ribcage any further. She watched as he first climbed over sitting on the railing before turning over and sliding himself downward, holding on. She grabbed his ankles as soon as his feet came into view, helping guide them to the railing. One more to go and they were home free. She climbed up on the railing, he again grabbing her wrists and sliding her downward. The sound of a screen door opening caused him to stop short.  
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The room's occupant, a bald, stocky middle aged man asked as he stepped outside. She quickly dropped to the ground, watching him swing his legs over the side, making a single leaping motion to the ground below himself.   
"Stupid kids!" The man yelled, prompting laughter from both Courtney and Wally as they slipped out of view. They'd taken a boat to the smaller island of Waikiki, where they'd rented a white Jeep Eagle for sight seeing. After the fifth waterfall, the sights, although beautiful, were becoming boring. Ripcord instead opted to find a deserted looking beach for a little four-wheeling, pulling donuts on the white sandy beach. Both laughed and shot war cries, her quickly overcoming the sick hang-over feeling as he tore the rented vehicle down the coast, a light spray of salt water kicking up to mist the pair. At one point he'd turned too sharply, causing a small wave to crash over them. He raised his arm protectively, but the wave crashed high enough to land on his shoulder, flooding his new tattoo.   
"Sonuvabitch," he mumbled, not stopping or slowing down as he glanced at his still sore arm. She laughed slightly as a boyish grin again over came his face, causing him to drive even faster through the shallow surf.   
  
"What's on the plate for tonight, compadres?" Fast Draw asked, seeing his teammates gathered in the lobby.  
"Poker game." Zap told him. "Grabbing one of the tables out on the beach"   
"Great." He said, sliding next to Courtney. "Is it Strip Poker?" he raised his eyebrows towards Courtney, tugging slightly downward on the tail of her tank top "I lose, you lose, we both win."  
"You lose, we all lose." She told him, wind milling his arm off. The game was Ripcord's brainchild. Hotseat wanted something to involve the entire team, less Repeater of course, without involving too much trouble. She'd groaned initially when he mentioned there had to be beer involved.  
"Not me, not tonight, Not ever!" Zap told him, mock clenching his stomach.  
"I don't want this getting out of hand." Hotseat chimed in.  
"Beer? I'm all for it." Fast Draw shot out, not wanting to be outdone.  
"C'mon, Top." Ripcord said, as he began getting a campfire set up. "Where's your sense of adventure?"   
"Somewhere between the mechanical bull and Karaoke machines, son."   
"I'll go." She volunteered. " There's an IGA not far from here, passed it jogging."  
"I'll take the walk with you babe."  
"Oh great. I feel sicker... I mean safer already." She said sarcastically. From the corner of her eye, she saw him shoot a quick "you-gonna-be-alright?" glance in her direction. She nodded in response, giving the hand sign for "I can handle him." He shook his head in agreement, then went back to building his fire.  
  
They were seated at the table when she and Fast Draw returned from the store, bringing a case and a half of beer and snacks. They'd made make-shift coolers out of the beer cartons and plastic bags, bringing ice down from the vending machines to keep the bottles cold.   
Ripcord was the first to open a beer, seconds after the six were seated at the table, and cards began to be dealt.   
"I don't know how you can drink that sh*t after last night." Hotseat said, lighting up the cigar which he'd bought for each of them.   
He gave a boyish grin as he shuffled the deck. "Easy Top, if you stay hammered then you don't have to worry about realizing that your reserve didn't open either."  
Almost immediately following Hotseats' comment, Fast Draw reached down, grabbing a beer himself and opened it. "Yeah, Top." He said, turning almost positively green as he took the first sip. "If you're gonna do it, do it right." Covergirl shook her head. Cards weren't really her thing, just never had much of an opportunity to play, but no one seemed to be taking he game real serious anyway, except of course, for Ripcord and Fast Draw. Every hand seem to come down to the two of them, the more Fast Draw drank, the more he lost. He was trying to keep up with Ripcord, who was working on his 8th beer. Looking at him, you'd never know it. The paratrooper's eyes weren't glazed, and he maintained his usual demeanor unlike Fast Draw, who looked physically like he'd had enough. Even the way he'd played cards didn't change. His "poker face" could rival any that even Repeater could set forth. As for Fast Draw, even before he started getting drunk, a novice like her could tell what kind of hand he had. Wide smile meant unless you had something damn good, you should fold.   
  
She tried to maintain a cool demeanor as she was dealt the next round of cards. First two she received were the King of Hearts, and Ace of Spades. .She looked to her left towards Ripcord and grinned. He'd offered a quick wink, and smile in return until he noticed her staring not at him, but at his shoulder. His smile turned more into a smirk as he shook his head and chuckled. Next cards were equally impressive, she figured she may actually have a shot at winning, for the first time not folding. Ripcord put his cards down first. Three of a kind. She smiled. The 4 dollar pot was almost hers. "HAH!" Fast Draw called out, placing his cards down. "Fuck you, Skyboy" He slurred, pointing his finger. "Fuck you." She looked at his cards and smiled. Full house. Queens and Eights.   
"Nope." She said, a slight air of condescension in her voice. Fuck you hotshot.." She put her Ace/King full house on top of the young soldiers cards, high fiving Ripcord as she claimed her four bucks.  
"BULLSHIT!" He yelled, picking up a beer bottle and throwing it towards the beach. "This is just…. Bullshit!" He drawled. "Seems to me someone's BOYFRIEND was dealing from the bottom of the deck!"  
"Lighten up, Brown." She told him, throwing the single bills his way. "It's just a game. It's four bucks."  
"That's not the fucking point!" He yelled, his face visibly reddening as he swiped another few bottles from the table. "You cheated. Both of you."  
"That's enough, big guy." Zap tried, standing up and putting his arm on Fast Draw's shoulder. Fast Draw shrugged him off violently, temporarily knocking Zap off guard where he fell backwards into the sand. Ripcord immediately shot to his feet, sliding behind Fast Draw and looping his hands beneath the young soldiers arms as Fast Draw rose as well, Ripcord still tenaciously hanging on, grabbing the man in an improvised "sleeper hold."   
"Get the f*ck off me!" He cried, throwing an elbow back towards Ripcord. After one more second of being held, he added a quick… "What's the matter, Shyboy? No gun this time?" Ripcord didn't change expression, didn't grasp tighter, just held on trying to calm the situation. Unfortunately it wasn't working.   
"C'mon, Amigo" Zap tried, getting back on his feet, patting the man on his shoulder.   
"Yeah, easy Hotshot." Covergirl added soothingly, moving beside Zap. Fast Draw's wounded pride now caused him to get even more agitated.   
"Oh, fuck you" He slurred. "All of a sudden you're going to drop the bitch act.."  
"Enough of this shot." Hotseat interjected, breaking the two men apart, stiff arming Fast Draw to keep him from going after Ripcord. "Just go sleep it off, kid. Zap, Heavy Metal, make sure he gets back to the room okay." He hadn't taken his glare from Ripcord's green eyes. Finally, disappointment crossed the face the old tanker as he shook his head from side to side, before slowly walking away.  
  
"Forget him." She said when the two had been left alone on the beach. Hotseat. He'd been cranky since the luau. Mostly towards Ripcord, she noticed, but just more short tempered in general.   
  
"Already have." He said quietly with a smile, before placing a small kiss on her lips. He added some sand to the top of the campfire to douse it, before standing back up, offering seconds, more of a passionate kiss. This time she near became dizzy, not from the usual butterflies that would form in her stomach, but from the overwhelming taste of beer. She was unsure of what to make of it. On one hand, he'd been behaving like… well like Ripcord. On the other hand, the amount of alcohol he'd consumed made her nervous. She'd counted near ten empty bottles near where he sat. She planted a small kiss on his lips herself, before adding a quick… "Goodnight, Superman. I'll see you in the morning" as she turned towards her room. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Ripcord stared out across the black night-time waters in reflection, wondering where all the time had disappeared to. The team had spent last four days basically just repeating the same activities over and over again; going to the beaches, seeing the sights, and just relaxing in general. Sure he'd enjoyed the welcome respite from active duty, but in hindsight, they hadn't really done but a few things. A smile crossed the paratroopers face as he recalled some memories of the leave a particular one concerning weight lifting 'competition' he'd gotten himself into with Fastdraw. With a final chuckle that was lost over the sounds of the small out-board motor, he pushed the memories away, focusing instead on the present. Mainly because he knew in his heart that this would be the best moment of the trip; he'd personally seen to it. As a warmer smile crossed his face, he shifted his green eyes towards the small boat's only other passenger. Lit by the dim light of the moon, the figure of Covergirl was sitting towards front, reclining lazily against the sides of the small craft. She was wearing the same type of clothes combination of a skirt and sleeveless button up that she'd been partial to for nearly the whole trip; causing both the bluish hue of the floral patterned clothes and her exposed skin to seem to glow under the moonlight. After sometime of the two soldiers skimming over the water, Covergirl spoke, breaking the silence but not the serenity of the moment.  
"Let me guess," She started, raising her voice slightly in order for it to carry over the engine while a playful look crossed her face. "We're heading back to the airport in Honolulu where you'd spent the day convincing one of the pilots to bring us up to sixty thousand feet so we could jump?"  
"Nope," He responded with a sly grin. "Some things are better done at sea level." He saw Covergirl shoot him a quizzical glance before he shifted his gaze from her to a swiftly approaching dark mass on the horizon. As the boat neared the form more details poked into the moonlight, revealing the shape of a small island that was mostly dominated by light patch of forest. As the piece of land drew nearer, Ripcord gradually eased back on the throttle before bringing the boat to a stop within a few meters of the thin strip of sandy beach that surrounded the island. Not brothering to kick off his tennis shoes, he leapt over the side of the boat and into the mid-thigh deep water. He withdrew a braided metal cable from the boat before dredging through the water and up the beach, lashing the tether around a tree before heading back out towards the boat. He came to a stop at the edge of the boat holding his arms out as a warm smile played over his face. "C'mon, I'll carry you to shore." He said with a slow nod of his head towards the beach.  
"What have you done, Wally?" She asked as her eyes brightened and a large smile both quickly developed on her features.  
"You'll see." He responded cryptically as his own smile widened to match her own. The evasive comment seemed to only further brighten her mood as she carefully eased from the boat and into his waiting arms. Taking great care to keep her out of the water, he walked ashore, seemingly unaffected by the weight of the woman in his arms. He approached a spot of the ground that looked much darker than the others, gently setting her down on the cloth of the pre-placed beach blanket. He saw Covergirl follow his actions, kicking off her sandals as he knelt down in front of a pile of small logs. He stuck a single match and tossed it on the wood, raising a modest group of flames the instant it touched the already prepared fire. As the flickering soft glow of the fire began to cover their small area, he crossed to the other side of the blanket, settling in beside Covergirl before reaching into the beginnings of the forest just behind the blanket. A sound of disturbed ice was heard just before he pulled his hands into view again, this time bearing a bottle of Champaign and two accompanying glasses. After setting them down, he reached into the tree line again, this time causing a soft click to sound a brief moment before the opening notes of Journey's "Open Arms" started to drift softly through the cool night air. He quickly filled one of the glasses with Champaign and offered it her, watching as she accepted it with a slightly shaky hand. "It's our last moments in paradise." He spoke in a soft voice, allowing a short pause to creep between the two before he started again. "I wanted to make them count."  
"I can't believe you did this, that you set all this up." She said in a slightly unsteady voice as water started to appear at the corners of her eyes.   
"I wanted to show you how much you mean to me." He responded in almost whispered voice as he placed his hand over hers, slowly rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. Her bright blue eyes gazed deep into his, almost as if searching for something. After a long moment of simply nervously biting her lower lip, she finally worked herself up enough to speak.  
"You mean a lot to me too, Wally." She carefully said in a barely audible voice.  
"I know." He responded with a slow nod, his face still confident. "That's why I did this. We needed one prefect night."  
"We'll have plenty of them," She started in more confident voice as she offered up a nod a of her own. "But thank you for this one. You're right. It's absolutely prefect."  
"Also I want you to know something." He said while giving a reassuring squeeze to her hand and letting his warm smile grow even larger. "I know I love you now." The comment caused her to lose her futile battle with her emotions as a few tears finally broke free of her eyes and slid down her cheeks. In spite of the tears, a smile rivaling his made it's way onto her face, bring a sharp contrast to her tears.  
"Why?" She asked simply in an almost awe-stricken voice, as a quizzical looked crossed his confident features. "You asked me why I stuck with you." She asked as she sniffled back a few more tears, attempting to break the stream. "I just want to know the same."  
"Because you can make it all go away." He responded as his smile returned and he raised a hand to brush away the tears that made their swift trails down her face. "Just one look at you and I know it's all gonna be all right."  
"I know I love you too, Wally." She said as she brought a hand to the side of his face, tracing the predominate features while her swiftly drying eyes stared deeply into his. "And it will be all right. You promised." He didn't say a word as he leaned closer to her, his lips meeting hers. Their arms locked around the other, pressing their warm bodies together as the passionate kiss extended into a blissful eternity. Without any hesitation Covergirl slowly leaned her body away without breaking their lips, pulling his body with hers as she slowly leaned backwards, laying her body down on the blanket. Ripcord finally broke their lips as he slid his lips across her cheek and jaw line, causing her to angle her head upwards, exposing her neck as she pulled him even tighter against her body.   
  
Ripcord was slowly roused by the dull beeping of his wristwatch's alarm. He sleepily felt around for the timepiece, patting his hand around on the soft fabric of the top beach blanket. Finally his fingers closed around the fabric and plastic object, pressing a small button to silence it. Once the artificial sound had been silenced, the natural sounds filled his ears. The waves gently crashing against the shore and the light rustling of leaves that were being blown around by the cool ocean breeze. However, not the sound of the waves, the smell of the salt water, or the sun beating down on his partially exposed body could occupy his mind for more than a brief second. He cast his eyes down towards his chest, his eyes instantly falling on the sleeping form of Covergirl, her cheek resting against his pectoral muscle. His eyes wandered over the rest of her figure, all but her arms and shoulders still covered by one of the beach blankets that the two soldiers were sandwiched between. He took a long moment just to stare at her sleeping face, trying to remember every detail of her soft breath on his chest and her smooth skin pressed up against battered body. He raised the arm his free arm and gently brushed aside a few stray strands of her hair, smiling at how well her strawberry blonde hair faded into the thin coat of fiery hair on his chest. He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze with the arm that was wrapped around it and lightly brushing the bottom of his jaw against the top of her head. He then called out in a whispered voice, a part of him not really wanting to wake the sleeping woman. "Courtney, it's time to wake up. We gotta get goin'."  
"No." Covergirl responded in a lazy voice as she nuzzled her cheek into his chest. "Let's just stay here. They won't find us." She finished as she squeezed his shoulder with the hand planted on it and hooked her leg around his as if to stop him from leaving her side. The weak attempt to restrain him brought a smile to his face as he placed a small kiss on the crown of her head.  
"You know I'd love to, but evading the team for day or two is one thing; Missing our flight and being listed as AWOL is another." He responded, his tone still barely audible.  
"I know." She stated with a sigh. "I just don't want this to end."  
"Neither do I." He offered with a warm smile and he gave her shoulders another reassuring squeeze. "But like you said last night, they'll be plenty more times like this."  
"Yeah." She responded as broad smile crossed her face. Very reluctantly she eased her weak hold off his body before she slowly sat up, pinning the blanket to her chest with one arm as she twisted her waist to look over the still laying paratrooper. The two both stayed motionless for a long moment, offering a warm smile to the other as both looked deep in the other's eyes before Covergirl's voice pushed the moment away, her smile fading as she spoke. "But you're right, we have to get back. Generals to see, Worlds to save."  
  
As the two soldiers rounded the corner, bring the airport terminal into view, Ripcord was partially surprised to see that he and Covergirl weren't the last ones to arrive. His eyes instantly picked out the form of Zap, in the middle on a conversation on a nearby payphone. After his keen eyes swept over the rest of the Delta terminal the only other familiar face he spotted was Hotseat. As the two soldiers walked towards a few open seats he saw the older tanker look up from his magazine to give the two a displeased look before he wordlessly shifted his eyes back to the copy of U.S. News and World Report.   
As he settled into a plastic seat next to Covergirl, Ripcord shifted his eyes out of the large windows, mindlessly watching the various airliners taxi back and forth. The paratrooper lost all sense of time, just blankly staring before his day-dreaming was broken as he heard a disgusted sigh coming from Covergirl. He turned his head, instantly catching sight of the source of her displeasure. He saw Fastdraw locked a sloppy kiss with an attractive young woman, an eye focused on Covergirl as he used one arm to wave her forward.   
"Obnoxious fuck." Covergirl mumbled with a shake of her head, which raised a small chuckle from Ripcord. After an uncessarily long moment, Fastdraw and the woman said their goodbyes before the young blonde walked off, Fastdraw's eyes following her seductively swaying hips as she proceeded down the corridor.   
"Damn." Fastdraw stated with an impressed tone and a smile as he shook his head. "Top, we can't leave." Fastdraw said as the smile turned into his normal grin once he approached his three teammates after the woman had disappeared from view. Hotseat only offered a slow shake of his head as he continued to read the news magazine. "I'd ask where everyone else was," Fastdraw started as he plopped down in the chair beside Covergirl. "But my favorite tanker is already here and that's the only one I care about." He finished as he threw an arm around her shoulders.   
"Only in your dreams hotshot." Covergirl responded as she near-forcefully threw the younger soldier's arm off of her.  
"C'mon Court, you know you want me." He shot back as he moved to put his arm around her again, causing Ripcord's features to harden as he turned towards the younger soldier. However before the paratrooper could say anything, Hotseat quickly defused the situation by changing the subject.  
"To answer your question kid," The older NCO started, bringing the attention of the three soldiers on him almost within a heartbeat. "Heavy Metal is already here, grabbing a last drink in the bar. Repeater is..." He trailed off before shaking his head and closing his eyes. "Repeater is still missing."  
"He does know what time the flight leaves right?" Ripcord asked in disbelief as he shot a quick glance to the Boeing 747 that loomed just outside the large windows.  
"I figured he just needed some time to blow off steam but now I'm starting to get a little wor-" The older tanker started before being cut off by Fastdraw.  
"Hole-lee shit." The anti-tank specialist said with a low whistle, causing everyone to shoot their eyes to what had caught the younger soldier's attention. Stopped near the entrance of the terminal were two figures. One was easily recognizable as the hulking body of Repeater, while the other was a smaller yet still tall and athletic brunette woman in Army issue class B uniform with insignia that usually identified a nurse. Diana. Both were talking yet their words weren't clear of the bustle of the airport. It took Ripcord a moment to see that the big machine gunner firmly held the nurse's two hands in his and both wore small smiles on their faces. What the hell? Repeater? Smiling? After a few more minutes of their conversation Diana nodded before the big Ranger took up her in a firm hug. A moment longer and the two reluctantly parted, both staring at the other as they walked their separate ways.   
"Aww-yeah! Get some big man!" Fastdraw said as a lopsided grin crossed his features and he pointed both index fingers at Repeater's slowly approaching form.  
"Shut the hell up." Repeater retorted as the corner of his mouth raised in a half-smile. Ripcord stood dumbfounded, as did the the others. He didn't know what had happened his teammate but it sure as hell seemed to be for the better.  
  
"Damnit! That little sonuvabitch bet me five hundred dollars that he'd have a stick up your ass within a week of gettin' there!" Fastdraw said, finishing his joke and raising laughter from his fellow soldiers. As the younger soldier started another joke Ripcord looked around at his team. Despite being in a base they didn't exist at, being in heavily starched woodland BDUs, and eating food he could barely recognize; they'd still managed to have the same banter that had been present throughout most of the Hawaiian vacation. Ripcord hoped the condition could carry over for the next time they went out into the field. The paratrooper was able to push aside the dark memories of his incident with Fastdraw in Brazil as he felt Covergirl's knee lightly bump into his under the table. He smiled to himself as he returned the small contact; they'd come up with strange ways of showing affection while not 'being' Wally and Courtney. Still smiling slightly, Ripcord looked back down at his so-called meal, only to have his eyes brought back up as he heard Fastdraw's joke stop mid-sentence. A young looking soldier had approached the group and stood near one of the empty chairs next to the group's 'spot' at one of the long rectangular tables in the mess hall. Ripcord's eyes instantly ran over the front of the soldier's BDUs, allowing him to learn a little about the soldier from the seemingly casual look. Specialist Gambello, U.S. Army, no special badges for advanced training, run of the mill soldier.  
"Hey guys, mind if I take a seat?" Gambello asked in confident voice as he motioned with his tray to the open seat next to Ripcord.  
"Yeah, we do. This table is strictly RFO." Covergirl finally responded after taking a long moment to size the soldier up, tilting her head to the side and giving a cocky smile.  
"RFO?" Gambello asked in a dumbfounded voice.  
"Rogue Force Only. Table for seven." She said flatly, looking away from the fellow Joe.  
"Eight." Heavy Metal corrected as he took another bite of the processed soy 'hamburger' that he held in his hands.  
"I didn't think bright boy here would understand about Murphy, seeing as how he can't see where he's not wanted or anything." Covergirl said with a shrug to Heavy Metal, still ignoring Gambello completely. After an embarrassed flush went through the soldier's cheeks he defeatedly turned and walked over to another table.   
"You people are pitiful." Hotseat said with a shake of his head, as a small chuckle escaped his lips.  
"Sorry Top. but you know the old saying." Covergirl said with a smile playing over her face. "You're either one of us, or you're shit outta luck. And he?" She stated with a jerk of her thumb towards where the soldier had seated himself. "Wasn't one of us." 


End file.
